Yuki's Second Chance
by mrsnessieblack
Summary: Shortly after accepting his sister was truly gone, Inuyasha and his friends run into a hanyou sorceress that claims she can resurrect the dead. Inuyasha lets her and her kitsune join the team on one condition...
1. Meet Yasu, the Hanyou Sorceress

**_AN: Hey, it's me, mrsnessieblack! I want to tell you guys how much your reviews mean to me and so forth. In "Crying River", those of you who reviewed were really kind to me and I'm happy for it. (Vivi Fontaine, you don't count because you're ALWAYS reviewing my works.)_**

**_One reader gave me an idea, though. What if I could bring Yuki back to life? Then I could keep on writing! I mean, who doesn't love Inuyasha, right? Who doesn't want to see him happy?_**

**_But we have a problem._**

**_I'm working on a ton of Twilight fanfictions and I have a lot on my plate already. All I ask of you guys is to review more every time I update. It serves as assurance to me. :)_**

**_Thank you. Now it's on to the story!_**

...

Yuki Taisho was a special girl. She could run faster than her brothers (one of which is a full-fledged demon), she had pure white hair (instead of her family's silver), and she had the power over ice.

The rest of the Inu family thought of her as a blessing. Despite being a hanyou, she was worshiped by demons everywhere. Her twin brother, Inuyasha, was barely recognized, but Yuki was his dearest friend and relative. She would share with him the riches and splendor of her wealth.

But the humans of the village feared her greatly.

"She could bring us famine," whispered a farmer to his wife. His son overheard and hated the hanyou girl.

"She could easily bring all the demons forth and kill us all," a housewife was caught gossiping by her son.

"She looks innocent now, but what about her brothers and father? I saw that hanyou twin of hers sharpening his claws on a tree! It took two swipes to cut it down!"

"And her older brother is a full-fledged demon. What if somebody hurts her feelings? I'm sure that demon will not hesitate to poison us in our sleep!"

One by one, the villagers grew more and more hostile to the situation. The ones who really ever did anything were the boys of the village.

"Get away, freak!" they'd yell when Yuki was alone. They'd throw rocks and sticks at her. Some even beat her up.

Yuki had the power to freeze them to death. She could give them all horrendous flus to which they'd never wake up from again. She could throw them in the river and make sure their frozen bodies would flow down until they're in a province far away.

But Yuki never did. She loved the humans. Even though they hurt her and despised her, she honored them. She even envied them just a little.

Humans could grow up to be many different things. Hanyous and youkais all grew up to be the same thing they were as younglings.

The humans could mingle with each other easily. Almost all the time, they would be friendly and civilized toward their brethren.

Hanyous and youkais would fight each other if they weren't working together.

"Don't mind the humans," Inuyasha warned. "They hate you. What good is it for you to like something that won't spare you a passing glance?"

"Not all humans are bad," Yuki lied, shifting her hand to cover the forming bruise a boy gave her earlier that day.

"You can't lie to me," Inuyasha growled. "I saw that bruise."

Sesshomaru, who was sitting quietly in a corner, hid his eyes, which turned red with spite. He cared deeply for his sister, and to see her hurt made him very angry.

When that fateful day occurred, many weeks after Inuyasha and Yuki's seventh birthday, Yuki's last wish was for her brothers to see the good in humans.

* * *

_69 and a Half Years Later_

"Kagome, hurry up! I want to get to the next village by sundown," Inuyasha growled.

"One minute, Inuyasha! Don't make me say the 'S' word!" the miko shot back, taking a pump out of the bulging backpack and kneeling in front of her bike's front tire.

"We still have a few hours, Inuyasha, we can wait," Sango soothed the hanyou.

Inuyasha's ears twitched irritably. He watched Kagome try to push down the pump. The miko tried and tried, but the darned thing wouldn't go without a fight. She was slowly pushing it down, though. Millimeter by millimeter.

Inuyasha huffed and pushed Kagome out of the way. He took the handles of the pump and slammed it down. He repeated constantly until Kagome's tire was a little bit bigger than the tire in the back.

"Th-thanks," Kagome stammered, hanging her head in embarrassment.

"C'mon, let's go," Inuyasha said bitterly, walking ahead. "Miroku already went to 'exorcise' the village."

"I'm pretty sure he's already popular with the girls," Shippo said smugly. Kirara mewed her agreement. Sango clenched her fist.

...

_SOCK!_

The group came to the village just in time to see an attractive female in a lavender dress punch the perverted monk in the face.

"I like her style," Sango muttered.

"Yasu! This monk needs to exorcise the village! Don't hurt him!" the village leader yelled at her. Yasu shrugged and went back inside her hut.

"Why am I not surprised to find a girl hitting you?" Inuyasha asked Miroku, helping him up.

"DEMONS!" the villagers screamed.

"Do not worry, I, Miroku, Sango the demon slayer, and Kagome the priestess, have these demons under our control. Show them, Kagome," Miroku winked at her. Inuyasha gulped and looked at Kagome with fear.

"Sit boy," Kagome said with some satisfaction. Inuyasha faceplanted into the ground. Shippo pretended to faceplant, too.

The villagers murmured in awe at the young miko's power. Even Yasu had to look outside her hut to see what Kagome did to the youkai and hanyou.

"I see. Then welcome to our village!" the village leader announced, raising his arms in welcome. "I shall see to it that you will be fed and entertained in exchange for the exorcism."

"No, please, it is my duty as a monk not to accept such offerings," Miroku hammed it up.

"We insist! Yasu is our village sorceress. She can entertain you with her magic! And we will serve the best food our village has to offer!"

"Well, it would be wrong of me to deny your hospitality," Miroku said, bowing low. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"_I think he's in it for Yasu_," he whispered to Kagome. Kagome looked at Sango's angry expression and nodded slightly.

"Come, friends, let us gather for a feast!"

The group followed, with Miroku up front "exorcising" the village. He paused at Yasu's hut. The sorceress was sitting at the doorway glaring at him.

"Um, _may all demons be purged from this fresh sacred ground_," Miroku said quickly, slapping a sutra onto the door frame and walking towards the next hut quickly. Yasu grinned at Inuyasha and the group and got up to follow the parade.

"So you're a sorceress," Kagome stated.

"My mother was one. My father was a youkai. I'm half demon, half sorceress," Yasu explained. Inuyasha looked at her in surprise.

"You're a half demon, too?" he asked.

"Yep. I recognized you from the stories I'd heard ten years ago. You're pretty popular, Tree-boy."

"TREE-BOY?" Inuyasha roared. The parade halted and backed away from the angry hanyou.

"Inuyasha, sit!" Kagome hissed. Inuyasha faceplanted again. Shippo sighed and faceplanted, too.

"I only meant the fact that you're, like, the only thing close to a youkai that's actually taken ahold of the Shikon Jewel," Yasu explained. "Your story is well known to demons."

"Inuyasha, you're famous!" Kagome whispered.

"It's nothing to be famous for," Inuyasha growled.

"Hm," Yasu smiled, taking Kagome and Inuyasha's hands and dragging them up front with Miroku.

"Come on, it's time for the feast!" she cheered. She reached into her robes and pulled out a sword, invisible to the world.

"We brought the finest food, as requested, sir," some villagers announced, bringing a pig and many vegetables and fruits.

"Brilliant! Yasu, it's your turn," the village leader laughed.

Inuyasha and friends watched with queer looks on their faces. Was this the way the village acted around travelers?

Yasu swung her sword and struck the fire pit, setting it ablaze. The villagers set p a stand for the pig and roasted some of the vegetables and fruits.

When the feast was ready, Yasu sat next to Kagome and took a piece of roast.

"Say, have you ever flown before?" Yasu asked randomly.

"I have, many times," Kagome answered, thinking about airplanes and Kirara.

"Really? Can I see your wings?" Yasu asked, leaning in to stare Kagome in the eye. Inuyasha pulled Kagome away from the sorceress.

"I'm talking about Kirara. She's a fire cat demon," Kagome giggled. "She lets me ride on her back when she's flying."

"Oh, but I'm talking about wings," Yasu said, disappointed. "Like these!"

She backed away and spread her wings proudly.

"My father was a hawk demon," she explained. "I can even fly with these!"

"You can?" Shippo asked. "Can you fly with me on your shoulders?"

"Hop on!"

Shippo did and Yasu was gone, already in the sky.

"I'm going to drop you now, okay little fox?" Yasu told Shippo.

"What?"

"Don't transform!"

Yasu dropped Shippo and threw something shiny at him. It landed square on his back.

Shippo was flying again. Kagome gasped.

"Oh my God, Shippo, you have-"

**_AN: BOO! Okay, what does Shippo have? I'll mention the first person to guess right. (Okay, Vivi, you can try to guess, too...)_**


	2. The Power of Two

**_Chapter Two_**

"Shippo, you have wings!" Kagome exclaimed. Shippo hovered, looking up at Yasu and his new set of wings.

"WHOA!" he yelled, losing focus and tumbling to the ground.

"Yep, a good ol' invention of mine. Not only can it make you fly, but it can also cure some mighty serious plagues goin' 'round," Yasu landed, brushing her shoulder like giving another creature wings was an everyday thing to do.

"You're a little nuts, aren't you," Inuyasha asked sarcastically.

"She's been that way since she breathed in those toxic fumes," a girl's voice explained. Kagome looked down at her feet and saw bright green eyes staring back.

"GAH!" she screamed, falling backwards. The creature jumped up and landed on Kagome's head, showing herself in the light.

"Kitsune Harumi is the name," she introduced herself formally. "I'm a baby fox demon of this village and the official herb gatherer for Yasu."

"A baby fox demon?" Sango wondered, looking at Shippo.

_A girl?_ Shippo thought to himself. Harumi flicked her tail and scratched her head. She looked almost exactly like Shippo, with the exception of her hair and eye colors. Instead of Shippo's reddish-brown, Harumi had raven-black hair that was pulled into a messy ponytail.

"So now Shippo has a playmate," Miroku added, laughing.

"I don't play," Harumi said indignantly. "I have too much work to do for that!"

"What kind of child are you if you don't play _sometimes_?" Shippo asked, approaching the kitsune.

"I'm a sorceress' apprentice!" Harumi puffed her chest proudly. "Watch this: FOXFIRE!"

Harumi sent out waves and waves of the blue flames. They took on the form of a dragon and roared, breathing flames in the air. Then Harumi reached into her pocket and took out a handful of herbs, blowing them at the Dragon.

It changed color, first turning red, then a brilliant gold. Then, the flames disappeared to reveal a _real_ dragon!

"BEGONE!" Harumi yelled, throwing some kind of ash at it. The Dragon roared and withered away. The audience, save Inuyasha and friends, applauded. Inuyasha had Kagome behind him, his hand on the hilt of his Tetsuaiga. Kirara was fully grown, and on the defensive. Sango had her hand on her Hiraikotsu, and Miroku gripped the prayer beads on his right hand, ready to yank them off. Shippo just ogled the spot where the Dragon disappeared.

"Aw, relax, Rumi knows her stuff," Yasu laughed, walking over to pick up the little girl. "Which, do you mind explaining to me why you're not in bed?"

"Some moron put sutra spells on the hut. I can't go inside without getting purified!" Rumi complained. Miroku looked guiltily away while everyone stared at him.

"I apologize, had I known a kitsune lived in the hut, I would have purged any other demon away except for her," Miroku said nervously. "I'll go fix my error."

Rumi watched the monk leave the feast and rush to the hut.

"I hate it when monks visit this village," she grumbled. "They purify everything and never think twice about whether or not there are _friendly_ youkais in the area."

"Oh, Miroku doesn't purify _everything_," Kagome giggled. "In fact, he took to Shippo and Kirara very well. Inuyasha... well, he's a different story. Besides, out of all the demons in our group, Inuyasha's the strongest and most dangerous."

"Oh, thanks, I'm glad you think so highly of me," Inuyasha grumbled, looking pointedly at the miko.

"What? You know it's true," she squeaked.

Harumi didn't look amused and grabbed a piece of roast from Yasu's plate. Shippo sat next to her.

"You're an orphan, too?" he asked.

"How dare you ask such a thing!" Harumi growled.

"I'm sorry! I'm just saying that you should be with your ma and pa," Shippo explained. Rumi sighed and put down the piece of roast.

"My pa left when he realized I was a girl. My ma died shortly after giving birth to me. If Yasu hadn't come across me, I'd be dead in the forest right now."

"My ma died, too, and my pa was killed in battle. I avenged his death, with the help of Kagome and Inuyasha, and now Kagome is my mother!"

"Yasu's more like an older sister you have to keep out of trouble."

"Inuyasha's more like a violent older brother."

"Hey!" Inuyasha yelled.

Harumi smiled and scooted closer to Shippo.

"Here," she said, holding out a small red ball. "It's my favorite toy. You can have it."

Shippo eagerly took it and reached into his pocket.

"And this is mine. A spinning top. I like to make it bigger, because it's more fun that way."

Rumi took the top and smiled.

"Why are they giving each other their toys?" Kagome wondered aloud.

"It's a thing kits do to make friends. They give a newfound friend their favorite toy to show they really like the person. If a friend proves unloyal, the giver simply takes back his toy and gives his friend's toy back," Yasu explained. "Now it's time to find my glass..."

"In the hut, Yasu," Rumi said, turning to look at the sorceress.

"Glass?" Sango asked.

"My vial of potion!" Yasu declared, returning with Miroku and a glass bottle of a clear liquid.

"What does it do?" Inuyasha asked, taking the glass and sniffing the contents.

"Anything you want, if you can find the ingredients!" Yasu giggled. "For instance-"

Yasu plucked a piece of hair from Inuyasha and Kagome's heads and grabbed a small sake cup. She poured some liquid in and added the hairs. She handed the cup to Kagome and Inuyasha. The contents were pink.

"Drink up," she said. Inuyasha took a sip first and then Kagome. "Now, wait for the effects to take place."

"Just what is this stuff supposed to do, wench?" Inuyasha demanded. His irritated look melted and turned to one of longing. He turned to Kagome.

"Inu...yasha?" Kagome asked, the effects not yet taking place in her system.

"Kagome, I love you with all my heart, let's get married!" Inuyasha declared in a very un-Inuyasha-like manner.

"Inuyasha, what's wrong with-" Kagome sputtered, freaked, until the potion settled and her face showed equal longing. "Of course my love, of course I'll marry you!"

"Um, how do you reverse it?" Sango asked. "They're beginning to scare me."

"Congrats on your engagement, let's celebrate! Here, let's drink to your newfound happiness!" Yasu said quickly, handing them the same potion. Inuyasha drank and handed the rest to Kagome.

"What the hell-?" he asked groggily. "Gah! I was about to marry Kagome!"

"Hell! I was about to marry Inuyasha?" Kagome screamed.

"Double doses reverse the effect of the potion," Yasu said calmly.

"You'll pay for this embarrassment, wench!" Inuyasha glared.

"Oh, I'm trembling," Yasu said. She poured the last few drops into the fire and sat back down. "If you kill me, Rumi knows my secret to resurrection, anyways, so you can't do much."

"Resurrection?" Inuyasha whispered, frozen. Kagome looked at him and saw what he was thinking. Kikyo. Yuki. His parents. He lost them all, and if there's a chance...

"Yasu, can you really resurrect people?" Kagome asked.

"Yep, it's a blessing and a curse. I cannot resurrect myself, but I can resurrect a single person for another. I never really resurrect people, unless it's really important." Yasu took a drink of sake and stared at the fire. "I resurrected my youkai brother, once. His wife begged me to. But my brother hated me because I was a hanyou, hated that a _hanyou_ brought him from the dead. I decided to take him from this world once again. When the deed was done, his wife cursed me. I could never be able to resurrect myself or my beloved as long as I am a hanyou. But I cannot end who I am, and it's a silly curse, anyway."

"I'm so sorry," Kagome whispered, sitting next to Yasu.

"Eh, why are you sorry? I'd like to die a happy death. Why would I want to live again if death isn't at all that terrible?"

"Feh! You're a half demon. There's no way in hell you'll ever go to heaven," Inuyasha scoffed. "And a resurrected being won't get that chance, either."

Kagome tried not to think about the time when Kikyo almost succeeded in dragging Inuyasha to Hell with her. And now Kikyo is dead once again, defeated by Naraku. Would Inuyasha try to get Yasu to resurrect her again?

"Well, I'm tired," Yasu said, standing up and throwing the scraps of food from her plate into the fire. Rumi said goodnight to Shippo and climbed onto Yasu's shoulder. Kagome watched them leave.

"Bye, Rumi," Shippo waved. Rumi turned and smiled, waving as well.

"If I didn't know any better, I think you finally found a first love that might return the feeling," Inuyasha teased. Shippo sputtered, turning red.

"Inuyasha, leave him alone!" Kagome scolded him, picking up the kitsune and following the village leader to the guest hut. Inuyasha sighed and followed her.

...

In the morning, Kagome woke up to find Inuyasha gone. Sitting up, she looked for her bag and took out his bowl of ramen, ready to start making it for him when he returned.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha and Yasu were talking.

"I hear your friends and you all have a fight to pick with the demon Naraku," Yasu said.

"Yes, we are going to defeat him and collect jewel shards before he does," Inuyasha said proudly.

"I see. Well, I want in."

"What?"

"You heard me. That sick, twisted demon murdered my mother and took my father's power, leaving me in care of the villagers. I always wanted to exact my revenge, but I couldn't do it alone. I must take advantage of this opportunity!"

Inuyasha scratched his head. An extra member of the team meant more allies, which was a good thing, but it could also be very dangerous. More of Naraku's demons would attack, and half of the group were all humans. If anybody- Kagome- got hurt, Inuyasha wouldn't know how to deal with it. Not everyone were skilled fighters. Kagome was great with a bow and arrow, but if a demon got close without her knowledge, and if Inuyasha couldn't save her-

Inuyasha winced at the thought. Then again, Yasu was a sorceress, and her kitsune was her apprentice. They're powerful, doubly so because they had demon blood in them. Everyone would be out of harm's way.

"Fine, you can join. But on one condition."

"What is it?"

"I need you to resurrect someone."

**_AN: Dun dun duuuuun! Who is it? Kikyo?_**


	3. Filling Yasu In

**_Chapter Three_**

Nobody questioned Inuyasha when he allowed Yasu and Harumi to follow them on their quest for jewel shards and to defeat Naraku.

"Anybody thirsty? I have a few glasses here-" Yasu offered.

"NO." Everyone said.

"Jeez, I was just going to offer some water," she muttered. Shippo and Harumi were riding Kirara's back and laughing, swapping jokes and playing a game Kagome taught Shippo, something called "Rock, Paper, Scissors." So far, Harumi won five games and Shippo won three.

"I win again!" Harumi cheered. Shippo was being an unusually good sport, smiling at her and starting the game again.

"Hey, Inuyasha," Kagome whispered, walking next to him.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Why exactly is Yasu and Harumi following us?"

"Yasu wants her share of defeating Naraku like most of us here. I let her come, she could be of use to the team."

Kagome watched Inuyasha with suspicion. He wouldn't usually let someone join the group so willingly. Not without a fight. There was another reason Inuyasha let Yasu come with them.

Inuyasha noticed Kagome's staring and looked at her. Kagome turned her head quickly, but Inuyasha didn't stop staring at her. It made Kagome a little uncomfortable.

"Shippo! Harumi! That's not the way you play 'Rock, Paper, Scissors!'" Kagome blurted, rushing to help them understand the rules more clearly. Then she reached into her pack and handed them both a lollipop.

"She's wonderful with children, isn't she?" Yasu asked of Inuyasha, who was still watching Kagome.

"Feh! It's a woman thing, I suppose," he scoffed, quickly looking away.

"I don't know, I've never seen Harumi so at ease before," Yasu disagreed. "That kit of yours is lucky to have her for a mother. And if she ever has a family in the future, I'll bet they'd be pretty happy. Her future husband will be a lucky man."

Inuyasha started, and Yasu passed him by, smirking. She knew all along they had feelings for each other. The potion last night wouldn't have worked so strongly, otherwise.

Kagome gasped. Inuyasha rushed to her side.

"A jewel shard?" he guessed.

"Two of them. I bet it's just Kouga," Kagome explained.

"Yeah, I smell that skinny wolf," Inuyasha growled.

A whirlwind was seen in the distance, coming closer by the second. Yasu and Harumi primed for battle, unsure of what the whirlwind was. Yasu had her wings out, ready to attack from the air if it was necessary.

"It's okay, guys, Kouga's not harmless. Just annoying," Sango huffed, closing her eyes and waiting for the wolf youkai to approach.

"Inuyasha, try not to kill him this time, okay?" Kagome pleaded.

"Keh, it depends on if he doesn't act up," Inuyasha growled, his hand on the Tetsuaiga.

"Behave," Kagome said sternly.

"Kagome!" Kouga yelled, approaching the scene.

"Hi, Kouga," Kagome said dryly.

"Back off," Inuyasha grumbled.

"I'd gladly fight you for her, mutt," Kouga challenged, overhearing the hanyou's muttering. "I'm sorry, Kagome, I cannot promise he'll survive this battle."

"Oh, yeah?" Inuyasha yelled, taking out the fang and swinging it. Kouga laughed and dodged the attack. Kagome sighed and sat on a rock to wait out the battle. Sango, Miroku, Kirara, and Yasu joined her.

"Hey, Kagome, tell me about the hunk in the fur," Yasu whispered. Kagome sputtered.

"Don't tell me you like him?"

"Hey, he's cute, he's a good fighter, and he's determined to have your heart. I wish I had a man like that come my way," Yasu shrugged.

"You can have him," Kagome muttered darkly, watching Kouga kick Inuyasha in the gut and Inuyasha swing the Tetsuaiga, missing Kouga by inches. "It all started when Kouga kidnapped me to use me as a jewel detector. Shippo was with me at the time, and I broke out to help him escape. The rest of his pack captured me, but Shippo was already long gone. Kouga admired that I risked my life to save a friend and vowed to make me his mate. Inuyasha gets really jealous when Kouga's around, and I should be flattered, but Inuyasha gets so violent I worry for Kouga's life. That only makes him more jealous. Usually a run-in with Kouga starts an argument between Inuyasha and me, and I return home for both of us to cool off."

"You sound like you don't live from around here," Yasu noted.

"I don't. I... I live in the future, which is why I dress like this and I give everyone food that they've never heard of before."

"I wondered why a miko would wear such short garb."

"Can I tell you something?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not really a- I mean, I _am_, but... Okay, a year ago, I was a normal girl in the future, going to school and hanging out with friends."

"School? Hanging out?"

"Um, I learned how to read and count and things like that. Hanging out is a term for being with friends and having fun. Anyways, on my fifteenth birthday, I fell down a well and ended up here, five-hundred years in the past. I discovered Inuyasha bound to a tree by a sacred arrow, and he woke up, so I took out the arrow. He called me 'Kikyo', a priestess from fifty years ago that bound him to that tree. As it turns out, I'm her reincarnation, and the real Kikyo died protecting the Shikon Jewel the same day she bound Inuyasha to that tree. Well, it's my fault the jewel is in pieces, but because I'm supposed to be Kikyo's reincarnation, I have miko powers and I can see the jewel. I even have sacred arrows, but I don't consider myself a priestess like Kikyo at all."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"I never thought I'd be in this mess! But I guess I'm glad, though, because I met Inuyasha."

"You like him, don't you?"

The sorceress's prodding made Kagome blush. Yasu giggled and hugged the flustered miko.

"The answer is plain on your face, Kagome!" she laughed. "Don't worry, I can keep secrets."

"Fine, I like him, okay? But I can't really express how I feel because he's still mourning the loss of Kikyo."

"The miko who bound him to the tree?"

"There's an inside story to that. You see, Inuyasha tried countless times to steal the jewel himself, but Kikyo always managed to ward him away. One day, she talked to him, and they became close to each other. Kikyo proposed the idea of using the jewel to make Inuyasha human, so they'll live together and the jewel would be purified, and Kikyo would be an ordinary miko. They fell in love, and then Naraku tricked them-"

"That fiend!" Yasu stood, her eyes turning red.

"Yasu! Calm down!" Kagome gasped, standing and holding her down. Yasu eventually calmed. Inuyasha and Kouga were surprisingly oblivious, still fighting over Kagome.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Yasu apologized, horrified over losing her control.

"It's fine, Inuyasha has lost his control, too," Kagome reassured her. "Why do you seek Naraku?"

"He murdered my parents in cold blood, and drew my father's power from him. For that he must die."

"I'm so sorry," Kagome went silent.

"No, _I'm_ the one who should be sorry. Continue the story, please."

"Well, Naraku disguised himself as Inuyasha and mortally wounded Kikyo, telling her that he only got close to her to become a demon. Kikyo thought it was Inuyasha, and held a grudge against him for it. Then, Naraku put the jewel back where it was and disguised himself as Kikyo, and attacked Inuyasha. Inuyasha, who thought Kikyo really did hate him, stole the jewel and ran off. Kikyo bound him to a tree and died shortly after."

"Naraku will pay," Yasu growled, clenching her fists.

"Well, an old witch stole Kikyo's remains months ago-"

"Months?"

"In the futue, an entire moon cycle equals a month," Kagome explained. "Anyways, an old witch stole Kikyo's remains and formed a clay body for her, so the new Kikyo could collect jewel shards for the witch. Because Kikyo's soul wanted unfair vengeance over Inuyasha, she didn't do as she was told and learned the truth shortly afterward. Inuyasha visited Kikyo many times, and I could tell they were still in love. Inuyasha even agreed... to go to Hell with her."

"Baka," Yasu snapped.

"No, he's not an idiot, he really loves Kikyo. I just had a vain hope..."

"...That he'll love you in Kikyo's stead?"

"Yes. Naraku eventually grew more powerful. He has a new body, now. He killed Kikyo, and I can still hear Inuyasha whispering her name in his sleep. He can't get over her, no matter how hard we try to keep his mind off of it."

"Kagome, if he's still hung up over a dead girl, he doesn't matter," Yasu reassured her. "Eventually he'll see what he's missing."

"And that would be?" Kagome snapped.

"He'll see a girl with fire in her soul. He'll see a girl who can fend for herself but will always need her hero. A miko that is not afraid of the demon in him, unlike Kikyo. Who loves him just the way he is. That's what he is missing," Yasu explained. Miroku and Sango 'aww'ed to themselves. Kirara mewed and Shippo and Harumi stuck their tongues out at the fighting hanyou.

"Thanks, Yasu," Kagome whispered, smiling sadly.

"You're wasting my time, mutt, I need to go see to my pack," Kouga finally announced, rushing over to Kagome, much to Inuyasha's protests. The youkai took Kagome's hands in his and said his usual love statements before running off. Yasu sighed.

"Wow, 'gome, I'm so jealous," she whined.

"If you want him, have him," Inuyasha growled, resting the Tetsusaiga (_**I noticed I've been spelling it wrong this entire time! D8**_) on his shoulder and continuing the walk like Kouga never appeared.

"Well, he's a winner," Yasu mumbled to Sango, who tried to stifle a giggle.

"Inuyasha's just mad that he didn't get a good fight, that's all," Sango defended her friend. "Kouga always runs away when he knows Inuyasha will win."

"So he's a coward? Aw, here I was crushing on him for nothing!" Yasu complained.

"No, he's actually very loyal," Kagome disagreed. "Most of his pack died, and he's set on destroying Naraku for vengeance."

"Again with Naraku," Yasu growled. "Does he have a death wish?"

"Naraku used his pack to set a trap for Kouga and Inuyasha. Inuyasha was framed to look like _he_ killed Kouga's pack, and they had a fight to the death. Whoever made it out alive got to fight Kagura of the Wind, one of Naraku's incarnations, and Inuyasha barely made it. Kouga realized it was a trap and has been hunting down Naraku ever since."

"Amazing. Naraku really ought to think about his attacks more carefully. He's making more and more enemies, and eventually that'll be the death of him."

"I was thinking the same thing..."

"Hey, I'll leave you three behind if you don't keep moving!" Inuyasha called from the front. Yasu, Sango, and Kagome rushed forward.

Only Kagome noticed that they were headed for Kaede's village instead of Naraku.

**_AN: Let me clear some things up. This takes place after Kikyo's second death. Naraku has a new body and we have to worry about that child incarnation (what was his name again?) and Entei coming around. Yasu was present when her parents died, so that's how she knows he's the culprit._**


	4. The Hanyou's Breath

**_Chapter Four_**

"Inuyasha, why are we heading back to Kaede's village?" Kagome asked.

"Keh, we're not!" Inuyasha laughed. Yasu followed him closely, a rosary in her hand.

"Then where _are_ we going?" Kagome wondered aloud. _None of us are sick or poisoned, so we can't be headed for Jinenji's farm. The only other place that holds any value to Inuyasha is... Yuki's Crying River... But why are we headed-?_

Kagome eyed Yasu's rosary and everything clicked. Yasu had the power to resurrect someone from the dead. Inuyasha wanted his sister back.

"Inuyasha, we're headed for Yuki's river, aren't we?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha paused.

"What of it, wench?" he demanded.

"Why do you want her back so suddenly? She'll be in danger!"

"She can help us, I know it. Besides, a kind heart doesn't deserve to burn in Hell."

Everyone was silent. They never heard such a thing from Inuyasha. He must've really cared about his sister.

...

_Fifty-nine Years Ago_

_..._

"Mother? What is a half-breed?" Inuyasha asked. His mother didn't answer, but instead cried, hugging her baby and apologizing constantly.

His mother left, then, still sobbing, and Yuki removed herself from her hiding spot behind the tree.

"Yuki, I didn't know you were there," he said.

"Inuyasha, you don't know?" she asked. Her ears flicked with intuition.

"Do you?"

Yuki nodded, and beckoned for him to follow her into the woods. Inuyasha followed.

They reached a hidden river. Yuki touched the water's surface and the river froze. She removed her fingers and the ice floated away.

"What do you know?" Inuyasha demanded.

"We're half-human," she whispered. Inuyasha froze. "Why do you think we have dog ears, but no demon markings, like father and Sesshomaru?"

"You're lying! We're demons!" Inuyasha growled.

"_Half_-demon," Yuki corrected. "Inuyasha, please don't growl at me like that, it's not a horrible thing!"

"We're outcasts, because mother and father are two different species! What did we do? Be born!"

"Inuyasha, please!" Yuki's eyes brimmed with tears, and Inuyasha stopped suddenly.

"Yuki, don't cry, I'm sorry," he apologized, hugging her. Yuki hugged him tighter and tried to stop crying.

"Humans are not bad, they are only afraid of things and people they don't know anything about! They can understand humans, because they are them, and they understand demons... in a way. But they never experienced hanyous before, ever!"

"Yuki, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking," Inuyasha apologized. Yuki nodded and stopped crying. She rubbed her eyes with her fists and tried weakly to smile. Inuyasha smiled back.

...

"Oh, Yuki, what happened?" Izayoi asked, rushing to her daughter's aid. Yuki had come home with her hair crudely cut, and matted with twigs and leaves. Inuyasha entered the room, saw Yuki, and started to growl.

"Who did this to you?" he demanded.

"I did it myself!" Yuki lied.

"Liar! Mom, let me go find those bastards-"

"Inuyasha, language! You will do no such thing! Yuki, who did this to you, I'll have their parents know about this!"

"No, Mother, I-"

"Yuki, it does no good to lie to me, who did this?"

Yuki told her mother the names at the same time InuTaisho and Sesshomaru returned from their meeting with a group of demons from the South. Sesshomaru froze and InuTaisho knelt next to Yuki.

"Yuki, your beautiful hair-" he gasped. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"M-my head is sore from the pulling," Yuki admitted through sobs.

"Inuyasha, go get some warm water for her bath, we need to get her cleaned up," Izayoi told him. Inuyasha nodded and did as he was told.

"Sesshomaru-" Inutaisho turned to his son and discovered him gone. Yuki struggled away and ran outside.

"Sesshomaru!" Yuki yelled, running for his retreating figure. She ran faster when Sesshomaru transformed into his true form.

"Stop!" Yuki demanded when she got close. She jumped onto one of his hind legs and froze it to the ground. Sesshomaru turned his head. "Sesshomaru, please stop, where are you going?"

Sesshomaru transformed back into his human form and explained.

"Those male humans need to be taught a lesson," he said, pulling his foot out of the large, icy paw print. Yuki hurriedly snatched his sleeve, pulling him in the opposite direction. She knew that if Sesshomaru used his demon strength to pull away, he might end up hurting her, and the demon stopped.

"Please, Sesshomaru, it's not acting out of fear that makes somebody bad, it's exacting revenge! Don't hurt them, please!"

In the trees, Inuyasha was a witness to Yuki's pleas. But he didn't bother coming out until Sesshomaru agreed to come home.

...

_Fifty-nine Years Later_

...

Inuyasha felt like laughing when he remembered that scene. When Yuki died, Sesshomaru waited until the boys were adults before abducting them and drowning them as a reminder of what they'd done. Does that mean Sesshomaru is a bad person? Inuyasha smiled. Sesshomaru was a bad guy anyways, it made no difference.

Kagome stared at the ground, slowing down until she was in the far back of the group. Kirara noticed and slowed down, too, so she could walk with the miko.

"Hey, Kirara," Kagome stroked the huge cat's head. Kirara purred and paced herself with Kagome.

"I wish you could speak English," Kagome mused. "You're so understanding, but I can't understand _you_."

Kirara mewed (if saber-toothed tigers could meow), and nudged Kagome's shoulder as if to say, _I try to help you understand_.

"Inuyasha. Are you sure you want to bring Yuki back? The dangers will be greater than before, now that you have a weakness," Miroku whispered.

"I already have weaknesses," Inuyasha grumbled, trying not to look at his main weakness, the girl conversing with Kirara.

"I know that, but you seem so eager to have your sister back, it could be a great liability," Miroku countered.

"Yuki was one of the only people, besides my parents and Kagome, to ever fully understand me. She would help me when I was weak, she would explain things to me that I didn't understand, and she would bring my family together. When she died, Sesshomaru and I despised each other, and I vowed to become a full-fledged demon. I loved my little sister. She wasn't dangerous, but she was the one to die. She didn't deserve that," Inuyasha explained.

Miroku placed a hand on the hanyou's shoulder.

"I pray that we are successful," he told him.

"We will be," Inuyasha growled.

Yasu pretended not to hear, but she couldn't help but listen to Inuyasha's rant about his sister. She never had a sibling, or a friend, who could understand her. In fact, Inuyasha was the first hanyou she ever met.

"Here we are," Inuyasha announced, and the group came to a halt next to the river.

Yasu knelt by the water's edge and ran her fingers through the water. She closed her eyes.

"What is she doing?" Shippo whispered to Harumi.

"She's searching for the deceased's element," Harumi explained. "To resurrect somebody, you must find their key element. If you don't, the body that is produced will be an empty shell. When she brought back her brother, she needed the blood of man. It was horrible to think about, but she managed to collect blood without killing anybody."

"Pure water," Yasu whispered. "I need... pure water."

"Water!" Kagome exclaimed, setting down her backpack and digging through it. She found a water bottle and tossed it to Inuyasha, who handed it to Yasu.

Yasu took out her glass and poured a little of the potion into the bottle cap. She reached into her pocket and added a pinch of black powder to the potion. It turned green and she added the potion to the water bottle.

The water fizzed and foamed. Kagome watched as green smoke rose from the bottle, and what was left was half a bottle's worth of water.

"The water wasn't pure enough, I purified it just now," Yasu explained. "Harumi, I need you!"

Harumi rushed to her master's aid. Yasu gave her the water and held up her rosary. With her left hand, she threw in grasses and oils. She and Harumi chanted something peculiar.

The water glowed pure white.

"Harumi, now!" Yasu yelled. Harumi threw the water into the river.

"What's happening?" Yasu exclaimed, standing up. The river had iced over on the surface, hard enough to keep anyone from breaking it easily.

"Yuki!" Inuyasha exclaimed, running down the river and following a red figure that was flowing down.

"Inuyasha, use the Tetsusaiga!" Kagome yelled at him.

Inuyasha pulled out the fang and drove it into the ice, making a hole big enough for him to jump into.

Now it was Kagome's turn to run down the river. She followed Inuyasha and Yuki's forms as they both flowed downriver.

"Inuyasha! INUYASHA!" she screamed. There was another light further down the river, and Inuyasha's hand and the Tetsusaiga stuck out from the hole. Kagome ran onto the ice and grabbed his hand, helping him up.

Inuyasha came up coughing up a lot of water and holding a small red bundle. He didn't let go of it until he was out of the river.

"Yuki," he whispered to the bundle. He set her down on the rocks and shook her.

"Yuki, wake up," he begged.

"She isn't breathing," Sango gasped.

"Yuki, please wake up," Inuyasha pleaded.

"Here!" Yasu yelled, lifting the girl and pounding her back. "Do that. I'm going to gather enough herbs for a regenerating potion."

Inuyasha continued pounding the girl's back, pleading with her to breathe.

Finally, Yuki's eyes flew open and she choked out water. She coughed and choked, and Inuyasha continued pounding her back. When Yuki stopped coughing, she weakly looked up.

"Inu... yasha..." she whispered.

"I'm here, Yuki, I'm here," he promised.

The girl's eyes fluttered closed.

Kagome came over with a blanket and wrapped it around Yuki. She noticed that Yuki looked like an exact replica of Inuyasha, save the feminine features, like her long eyelashes, and white hair instead of silver. She handed the girl to Inuyasha and covered him with another blanket, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind.

"You scared me, Inuyasha," she hissed. "I thought we'd lose both of you."

Inuyasha's ears went straight up.

"Keh, you know I can handle myself, wench," he snorted, trying to cover his blush.

"I couldn't see you, Inuyasha. I didn't know if you had drowned, too," Kagome whispered.

"Kagome..."

Kagome stood up and gathered her things.

"Yuki will need to be taken care of, she'll get really sick if she stays in the cold," Kagome told him, standing up. "You'll have to place her on Kirara, Inuyasha."

"I'm not letting go of her," Inuyasha growled. "I just got her back."

"Kirara is a fire cat demon, she can keep Yuki warm. I'll ride with her so she doesn't fall."

Inuyasha's resolve wavered as he watched Kagome spread a third blanket on Kirara's back. Silently, he started forward and carefully placed Yuki on Kirara. Kagome leaned her against her chest so she could hold on to both Yuki and Kirara at the same time.

"We're ready," Kagome announced. Shippo and Harumi jumped on Kirara, as well.

"We can be of help," Harumi explained as she and Shippo brought out foxfire and heat magic. They curled next to Yuki and held onto Kagome.

"Kirara, take us to Kaede's village," Kagome told the firecat. Kirara nodded and ascended into the air.

"Wait! Kagome, where are you going? Come back!" Inuyasha yelled, running with her.

"I have to take Yuki to Kaede," Kagome explained. "She'll stay in the village while I get remedies from my era. Stay with Yasu, Sango, and Miroku!"

"Dammit! I need to follow them," Inuyasha yowled, punching a tree.

"Miroku, hop on, Sango, get on Inuyasha's back," Yasu commanded. Inuyasha's ears twitched.

"What?"

"We're following them," Yasu explained, going airborne with a startled Miroku on her back. Sango climbed where Kagome would usually be on Inuyasha's back and Inuyasha jumped over the trees.

_Kagome, I hope you can fend for yourself_, Inuyasha thought to himself. _Because if anything happens, it's not just you that will be lost._


	5. The Story of a Hanyou's Past

**_Chapter Five_**

"Ugh, damn it, Monk, you're heavy!" Yasu complained after they crossed the valley.

"I apologize for your discomfort," Miroku chuckled nervously. Sango watched from Inuyasha's back as his impulsive hand slowly reached for the danger zone...

Miroku started to free-fall. Inuyasha watched with horror, still in the air and unable to do anything.

"Miroku!" Sango yelled.

Yasu shot a silvery object at Miroku and it planted itself into his back, turning into a raven's wings.

"Raven's wings as black as the sins he commits," Yasu muttered to herself. "I can't stand to have a lecher on my back."

"Can we stop playing around and get to the village?" Inuyasha shouted.

"Sorry, sorry," Yasu apologized half-heartedly, flying with Miroku to keep him steady.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kagome, Shippo, Harumi, and Kirara finally made it to Kaede's village. Kaede was just returning from picking herbs when she saw the small group.

"Oh, oh my," Kaede gasped when she saw an Inuyasha-like figure slumped on Kirara's back. But the figure was too small to be Inuyasha-!

Kaede honestly imagined Inuyasha getting in a brawl with a sorceress, possibly getting magicked into a young child. The child was wearing red fire rat robes. It had Inuyasha's ears.

Kagome lifted the child from Kirara and carried her slowly to the hut.

"Kagome, what went wrong? What happened to Inuyasha?" Kaede inquired, opening the doorway for her. Kagome set the child down before turning to answer.

"This isn't Inuyasha, but he'll be around shortly. This is his sister, Yuki," she gestured to the sleeping girl. "His twin."

"That child is no twin of Inuyasha's!" Kaede reasoned. "She looks to be only seven!"

"She died when they were kids. We met a sorceress that could bring the dead back to life. Inuyasha wanted Yuki back. I must go, Kaede, I need to bring medicine from my era."

Kaede nodded and started a fire to warm the small girl. Shippo and Harumi huddled close to Yuki to keep her warm.

Kagome had barely jumped into the well when Inuyasha, Yasu, and Miroku landed.

"Yuki!" Inuyasha yelled, sniffing around for her scent. He smelled rainwater and ran towards it, pushing aside the door and rushing to his sister's side.

"Ye must calm down, Inuyasha," Kaede reprimanded him. "Excitement will only result in fear."

Inuyasha calmed himself down listening to the sound of Yuki breathing. His ears twitched nervously.

Yuki was a small girl. Her hair was still growing out from the horrible cuts the village boys made all those years ago. Her hair and ears were as white as the snow she commanded, although Inuyasha could swear he saw silver streaks in her ears. Her cheeks were a lush rosy color, and her lips were a plump coral pink. When she opened her eyes, Inuyasha remembered, there would be actual gold flecks instead of the topaz his had. If you set them together, they looked different from one another. Like her father and Sesshomaru, she had light violet marks on her arms, but she covered them up with her robes.

Her robes were slightly more fitting on her than Inuyasha's was on him. Yuki despised skirts, even when her mother told her it was proper to wear one. Izayoi eventually gave up on her after fifty arguments. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha found it funny, even though only one of them made it known.

"Sleep well, sister," Inuyasha whispered, sitting down with the Tetsusaiga in his arms and dozing off.

Meanwhile, Kagome was trying her very best to collect what she needed with no distractions. She packed extra blankets for Yuki, more ramen to console Inuyasha, and a glass figure for Yasu, who she knew would instantly grow interested in it. For Shippo and Harumi, she packed crayons and toys and candy, including Shippo's favorite Pocky.

"Momma!" Kagome yelled from in the kitchen.

"Kagome, what do you need?" Mrs. Higurashi wondered, heading for the kitchen.

"I need some chicken broth, please tell me you have some."

"I'm sorry Kagome, I don't. And it'll take me three days to fully seep the broth," Mrs. Higurashi explained.

"I need it, now!"

"I'll work on it immediately," Mrs. Higurashi promised, heading straight for the fridge.

"Thank you, I'll be back soon!"

Kagome rushed back to the well and jumped in. When she looked up it was nearly dark in the Feudal Era. Miroku peered in and let down his staff for Kagome to hold onto. Whe she was out, Kagome looked around.

Sango and Yasu were practicing their fighting skills out of pure boredom. Shippo and Harumi were playing a kitsune game involving shape-shifting into different forms without thinking for as long as they could. When they noticed Kagome was there, Shippo looked like Kouga and Harumi looked like a lizard demon. Of course, Shippo still had a fox tail while Harumi was masked perfectly. Shippo, still in Kouga's form, rushed over to hug Kagome.

"Kagome, did you bring me anything?" he asked.

"Of course I did, Shippo," she laughed, handing him the Pocky.

"WOLF!" Inuyasha yelled. Kagome turned to find a tired Inuyasha standing furiously at the edge of the trees. Inuyasha pulled out the Tetsusaiga and charged.

"Waaah, don't hurt me!" Shippo yelled. There was a pop and the young Kitsune was seen running behind Harumi the lizard demon.

"Shippo, I'll kill you!"

"Inuyasha, OSUWARI!"

_CRASH_

_..._

Everyone was in Kaede's hut watching over Yuki and talking, Inuyasha sporting a lump on his forehead from such big sit. The kitsunes couldn't help but giggle at him. Inuyasha threatened to hit Shippo again, but a look from Kagome stopped him.

"Perhaps it is time for the young ones to go to bed?" Yasu offered, sipping a bit of sake.

"How is it that after downing an entire jug, you're still sober?" Miroku inquired.

"Sake has no effect on hanyous," Inuyasha explained for her. "I don't know about sorcery."

"Sake has an effect on soceresses, because we are still human," Yasu said blandly, setting down her cup and standing. Everyone watched her leave.

"I smell angst," Inuyasha decided to announce. "What made her so sad?"

"Everyone stay here, I'll go talk to her," Kagome whispered, standing up and following Yasu. Inuyasha, of course, couldn't just let her leave, and waited until she was far enough away before getting up to tag along.

Kagome reached the trees when she found Yasu holding a locket near the Goshinboku. She had it opened and tears were streaming down her face.

"Yasu?" Kagome whispered carefully.

The sorceress stood quickly and wiped the tears away.

"Kagome?" she answered, her voice cracking.

"Yasu, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing's wrong," Yasu lied quickly. Kagome frowned, and the hanyou sighed.

"My mother drank all the time. The last time she was sober, she died. I'd have preferred she were drunk and unable to get out of bed. When Naraku came for my family, he killed my mother first, just to hear her scream. She was a very powerful sorceress, so he stole her powers until she was like any mortal. Then he tortured her. He kept torturing her until my father was begging for him to kill him instead. I was five. I was standing there the entire time. He had me tied down with an ugly tentacle. I watched as he absorbed my father whole. I was left an orphan. Humans kicked me off the road when I begged because I was a hanyou."

Up in the trees, Inuyasha thought back to his childhood. Nobody would accept him or Yuki because they were hanyou. He understood Yasu's pain.

"When I came to the village, it was like I had died and gone to heaven. The village leader wasn't just accepting, but he was like a father figure. He raised me, and sent for the best sorcerers and sorceresses around to train me. He helped me study birds to help me fly. I spent my entire life hoping for a chance to bring Naraku down and force upon him the grief he gave me and all the other poor souls out there."

Yasu stayed silent and brushed her hair behind her ear. In the spots of sunlight coming from outside the canopy of leaves, certain streaks of Yasu's hair turned silver. It was the mark of a sorceress.

Inuyasha got down from his tree and approached the group, hiding behind the Goshinboku. Kagome didn't notice, but Yasu smiled faintly.

"Come on out, Inuyasha, I won't bite," she whispered. Inuyasha moved away from his hiding spot and sat next to Kagome.

"I don't get it," he said. "If humans treated you like dirt, why did you always come back for more?"

"It's not acting out of fear that makes us bad people," Yasu explained. "Rather, it's the hatred and vengeance you give back in return."

Inuyasha stiffened. His sister had said that, years and years ago, when she stopped Sesshomaru from hurting the village boys. This hanyou... She knew something he didn't growing up.

"My sister said that," he said, looking down. "She said it to stop Sesshomaru from hurting the village boys. They cut her hair off."

Yasu laughed.

"I was wondering why her hair looked like that!" Yasu sobered. "When I was little, after my family's death, I did feel rage over how I was treated. I even scared the humans so they'd leave me alone. But I had a dream one day, where I was being dragged into Hell while those humans were going to Heaven... A girl's voice told me that. I never felt disgusted or angry toward a human again."

"Yuki..." Inuyasha whispered. Kagome placed a hand on his shoulder.

Inuyasha blushed and stood quickly, brushing her hand off.

"I want to go check on her," he half-lied. Yes, he wanted to check on her, but no, he didn't at the moment. In fact, he'd rather have Kagome embrace him again...

He shook it off before he gave in and hugged her himself.

Kagome watched as he disappeared. Yasu smiled.

"He's a good boy," she told the miko. "Good for a family."

Yasu left, leaving a flustered and lost Kagome behind.

And Kagome looked at the Goshinboku, tracing the outline of where Inuyasha was pinned, touching the hole where the arrow went straight through his shoulder and into the tree. There, she saw a smaller outline, similar to Inuyasha's.

"Yuki," she whispered, examining it closely. Why did it appear for her to be there, too?

**_AN: We will be seeing a flashback next chapter. Be warned... it has the dreaded Kikyo in some of it. X-P_**

**_Thanks to the VERY FEW OF YOU who reviewed. The reviews meant a lot to me. *Cough, cough*_**


	6. The Power Inside

**_Chapter Six_**

_"Die, Inuyasha!"_

_Inuyasha turned, shocked at how familiar that voice was._

_Kikyo, the miko that bargained with him so they could live together in happiness... Betrayed him?_

_He dodged the next set of arrows that came his way._

_Little did Inuyasha and supposedly Kikyo know, they were being watched._

_Far off in the distance, the same creature that watched Inuyasha was watching him again. This time, Inuyasha mortally wounded Kikyo._

_Inuyasha, the hanyou so determined to change himself to fit in, but never had the guts to really hurt her... Betrayed her?_

_"I had no desire to become human," the Inuyasha creature snarled, picking up the jewel._

_"Inuyasha," the creature whispered in both scenes._

_She had watched her brother grow up from so long ago, when she couldn't. The great demon that she had no name for followed her around, because her soul was not yet at rest. It's eyes were shut tight, playing a soothing lullaby to entice the girl's soul to the realm of the dead. But she hardly listened to it. She wanted to watch over her brothers until death came to them- both of them._

_She saw the wickedness of the betraying Kikyo and Inuyasha and knew they were impostors._

_"Stop, Kikyo, Inuyasha, please, it's a trap!" she screamed, running with the two as they headed straight for the village. Kikyo reached the village just as Inuyasha was leaving, jewel in hand._

_"NO!" she shrieked. Her brother, not her twin brother..._

_She raced a single arrow, heading for one thing and one thing only._

_She stood in front of him and felt the arrow pierce her shoulder the same as it pierced Inuyasha's._

_She was absorbed into him, engulfed completely in darkness. All she could do is see nothing but hear everything as her brother slowly began to die._

_"Lady Kikyo, those wounds-!"_

_"Take this, and burn it with my remains..."_

_"KIKYO!"_

_Yuki felt her brother begin to die. She braced herself with all her power and spread it all over him._

My brother isn't going to die..._ she swore. _He'll stay here forever unless somebody will take the arrow that pierces us both out.

_Yuki heard somebody approach. It was days after Kikyo's death, and young Kaede was visiting her sister's grave when she came across a strange sight._

_"Inuyasha is still here? Kikyo's arrow surely would have purified his remains by now," she mused, staring at the body with interest and fear._

_"Miss Kaede," a villager called out._

_"Stay away, nobody shall enter this forest any longer!" Kaede ordered._

No..._ Yuki's last thought tumbled away as she succumbed to the darkness._

_Years passed and Yuki was awakened again by a familiar presence. It was that of a young miko, one with strong power and purification. Kikyo?_

_Through her power in Inuyasha's body, she could feel something touch his ears. Then the feeling was replaced by a girl's body thrown across her brother's._

_Who?_

_Eventually, the girl was taken away and all was quiet. Then there came the time when she felt a chilling presence. She pushed her powers to the limit._

_"Inuyasha, you have to wake up," she pleaded. "Please, you're in danger..."_

_As if it were a miracle, her brother awoke, growling about the scent of Kikyo._

_..._

_The arrow was out! The arrow was out! Yuki tumbled free seconds before her brother broke his way out of Mistress Centipede's grasp. Yuki landed right next to where the new miko did. Kikyo?_

_No, this girl was wearing strange clothing. Too skimpy for it to be the honorable Kikyo. But they looked so similar..._

_Inuyasha tore apart the demon and then turned on the miko._

_"Give me the jewel, unless you want to feel the caress of claws," he snarled._

_"Inuyasha, no!" Yuki gasped. This wasn't her brother._

_Yuki ran back to the village and into a hut, searching frantically for something to stop Inuyasha._

_There. Yuki saw a bit of dark purple and grabbed it, running to Kaede._

_"Subjugation beads," __she whispered in Kaede's ear to give her the idea._

_Kaede instinctively reached for the pouch that contained the beads and took them out. Soon, it was around Inuyasha's neck and the miko yelled out the spell._

_"OSUWARI!"_

That's not a spell,_ Yuki thought hopelessly. But it worked. Inuyasha faceplanted for the first of many times into the ground._

_"What in all the hells?"_

_"Spare your strength, Inuyasha. Nothing you do will remove those prayer beads from your neck."_

_"You... You withered crone!"_

_"Do your stuff."_

_"OSUWARI!"_

_Yuki sat next to her brother._

_"It's for your own good," she said aloud._

_Yuki eventually learned the miko's name was Kagome. She also learned that Kagome was Kikyo's reincarnation. She even had miko powers and the power to purify the jewel!_

_"Inuyasha... You're in good hands," Yuki sighed, leaving her brother to rest her weary soul._

_****__AN: How was that for a flashback? I'm not ready to write in the present, so next chapter's another flashback._


	7. Awareness

**_Chapter Seven_**

_Yuki sat up in the Goshinboku, watching as Inuyasha and Kikyo conversed._

_Yuki saw and heard what her fool brother couldn't. What Kikyo didn't even notice._

_Yuki fluttered down beside Kagome. It was one of those times where Yuki wished a soul could shed tears. She knew Kagome loved her brother. In fact, she gave a silent blessing. Kagome was so unlike Kikyo, even though they shared a soul. And Kikyo wasn't even alive!_

_"INUYASHA, YOU BAKA!" Yuki screeched at her brother in Kagome's stead._

_All the anger she held tumbled out. She stood and watched as the Nothing Woman tricked Inuyasha and tried to suck him in. She held her breath as Inuyasha cut off their own brother's arm with the Tetsusaiga. She wanted to destroy the clay puppet that old crone made, but couldn't even strike her claws upon the surface of rocky skin. She hissed at Naraku but it only sounded like wind._

_Now, she couldn't stand it as her brother hurt Kagome in the worst way possible. And she couldn't hold it in any longer._

_"You stupid, stupid, stupid idiot! HOW COULD YOU?"_

_Inuyasha finally acknowledged Kagome's presence after Kikyo was gone. Kagome and Inuyasha stared each other down. Yuki silently seethed beside the heartbroken girl._

_"Kagome..."_

_Kagome ran away. Yuki watched her go and stepped forward. She wanted to pummel her brother. She wanted to make him feel the pain she and Kagome were experiencing._

_Yuki raised a clawed hand and tried to call forth the ice._

Wait,_ a voice inside her seemed to say. _This isn't you...

_Yuki stopped and ran away. She almost attacked her brother! She needed to leave, run to comfort someplace else..._

_She wasn't conscious of where her own legs were taking her until she reached a small camp. A small toad demon and a little girl were asleep next to a two-headed dragon. Yuki looked up into a tree and found who she was looking for._

_Jumping up to the branch easily, Yuki perched herself next to her half brother._

_"Yuki, why do you visit me so late at night?" Sesshomaru asked. Yuki smiled. Unlike Inuyasha, Sesshomaru could sense spirits because he was a full demon._

_"Inuyasha is being a moron," Yuki scoffed, crossing her arms._

_"Of course he is," Sesshomaru chuckled. It was very out of character for him, but then again, the only person he ever opened up to was Yuki when she was alive._

_Back when she was the Princess of Demons..._

_"He hurt Kagome."_

_Sesshomaru's eyes turned cold._

_"I do not put myself in the troubles of humans, you know that Yuki."_

_"Why can't you forget that day? Not all humans are like those boys..."_

_"And yet they all strike in fear."_

_"They don't, they-"_

_"Yuki, you cannot lie to this Sesshomaru," Sesshomaru growled, turning his head to search vainly for Yuki's face. Just because he could sense her, that didn't mean he could _see_ her._

_"Sesshomaru, look at Rin," Yuki whispered. Sesshomaru froze. Then he inclined his head to show he was looking._

_"What of her?"_

_"The only attack she made was to make you come to your senses. She poured water atop your head, didn't she? And then she cleaned your wounds and left, only to keep returning until she died."_

_Sesshomaru tried hard not to wince, but he failed slightly._

_"Rin accepted you as a demon. In fact, she even went to the point of embracing you openly. She even likes your vassal, Jakken. And Ah and Un, need I say more?"_

_"Rin is a little girl. She does not yet realize the dangers that can come to her merely by being my companion."_

_"I think she is more intelligent than you give her credit for. And she's braver. Do you not remember, when Jakken was stung by those horrid bugs, that it was she that went on a quest for an herb that cured such wounds?"_

_"Jakken suggested the herb. She headed to an herb farm and went to a very dangerous place to retrieve them."_

_"She was smart enough to even start her quest. A girl who has not an idea of what to do would've died at one point or another."_

_Sesshomaru stayed silent._

_The two shared an Inu-youkai conversation before the sun rose, signaling Yuki's leave and the group's wakening._

_"I promise to come back in a couple of months, Sesshomaru," Yuki promised._

_Despite his expression, Yuki could tell Sesshomaru was dreading her departure._

_"I will come back, Sesshomaru. Meet me at my river in two months."_

_Sesshomaru nodded and turned to take care of the little human girl that suddenly started acting hyper again. Jakken and Ah and Un sensed Yuki but said nothing of it. If the great Lord Sesshomaru did nothing about it, the spirit was harmless._

_..._

_It was a new moon that night, and Yuki felt jealous as Inuyasha changed into a human._

_Yuki used to transform, too. But when she died, she died a hanyou. She was forever stuck as a half-demon._

_Kagome was holding a little kitsune named Shippo in her arms and singing to him softly. The kitsune and, unbeknown to Kagome, Inuyasha and Yuki, seemed to enjoy the sound of her voice as she murmured a strange melody they never heard before and in a language they didn't understand._

_"_Rock-a-bye, baby, on the treetop,

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock.

When the bow breaks, the cradle will fall,

And I will catch baby, cradle and all._"_

_The demon slayer and monk were already asleep. Yuki felt sorry that they couldn't her the song._

_Kagome repeated the song over and over until the kitsune fell asleep. Inuyasha and Yuki, side-by-side, merely listened and let her voice carry them away..._

_Yuki could tell when her brother was asleep by the way he breathed. He always took short, quick breaths, revealing the excitement behind his calm expression. But when he was asleep, his breath stretched out, filling his lungs all the way before stopping to let it out._

_Kagome was already falling asleep by the fire. Yuki lifted Kagome's hair away so it wouldn't burn and made the area comfortable for her brother and his new pack._

_Yuki tried to repeat the melody as she worked. It was strange on her tongue. She didn't understand the meaning in the language._

_Inuyasha's mouth twitched into a soft smile. He was dreaming that his sister was there, singing the melody Kagome was so fond of singing._

_And Yuki continued to work._

**_AN: Aw, this is so sweet I want to pick up Yuki and squeeze her!_**


	8. Control

**_AN: I'm sending you all back and forth, I know. But I want to cover Inuyasha, Yuki, and Sesshomaru's lives before Yuki's death before I return to the present. Now, we're going to the point of the twin's birth..._**

**_Chapter Eight_**

_Sesshomaru was in the room solely because he must support his father as his mortal lover gave birth. He wasn't happy there. He would rather be in the Western lands, studying to become a Lord._

_"A fine young boy!" Inu-Taisho cheered, holding the whelpling up. The baby boy screamed. Sesshomaru's face turned even more sour. Even though he was a hanyou, the baby boy would be another heir to Lordship._

_"I shall name him... Inuyasha," Inu-Taisho cooed._

_Sesshomaru turned to leave. Then Izayoi screamed again._

_"There's another," Inu-Taisho gasped, rushing to his lover's aid. Sesshomaru paused in the doorway._

_Soon after, Inu-Taisho was holding another whelpling, one with blood-stained white hair. The room grew cold as the baby squealed. Inu-Taisho gasped, almost dropping the new baby girl._

_"Her skin is as cold as ice," he whispered. "A fine young princess. I shall give her a name that suits her well. Yuki."_

_"Inu-Taisho, let me see my children," Izayoi begged. Inu-Taisho set Inuyasha in her arms and tried to warm the cold little girl._

_Yuki opened her eyes at last. Oh! A fine gold! Her eyes were that of a demon's, rather than a hanyou's._

_Sesshomaru was frozen in the doorway, captivated by the new baby girl._

_"She has more demon blood in her than human," Sesshomaru said finally._

_"And her brother is more human than demon," Inu-Taisho finished. "Yuki... Our little Princess."_

_..._

_The family tried their very best to keep Yuki a secret from prying youkai. Inuyasha was allowed out, though, and he was often the source of news for his sister._

_"The village held a festival for the blue moon," Inuyasha whispered one night, when they both were six. "There was a large feast. I wasn't allowed near, though."_

_"I wish I could go outside," Yuki wailed. "I long for the outside breeze and to pick a flower myself, rather than have you bring me one yourself!"_

_"Yuki, you know you can't do that. Demons might want to kill you for your gifts!"_

_Yuki's eyes turned ferocious. Ice began to shoot up in deadly spikes all around her. Inuyasha jumped away quickly before any hurt him._

_"I can defend myself! I want to go outside!"_

_"Yuki, stop!"_

_"Nobody can stop me! I am powerful!"_

_A spike grazed Inuyasha's shoulder. He winced but continued to dodge the ice._

_"Yuki, stop this!"_

_Inuyasha felt undiluted fear for the very first time as he saw his sister's eyes. They were red like a demon's. Like their father's and Sesshomaru's when they transform. Yuki was even beginning to form demon streaks on her cheeks._

_"Nothing will stop me! I am stronger than everyone!"_

_"Yuki, calm down! Stop! I know!" Inuyasha yelled. Yuki gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes turned gold again and the demon markings dissipated. The ice melted away._

_"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Yuki screamed._

_Inuyasha scoffed and jumped over to hug his sister._

_"Keh, as if you can hurt me, Yuki."_

_Yuki buried her face in her brother's shoulder and cried._

_"I lost control! I lost it... I couldn't identify you as my brother... All I thought about was anger..."_

_Sesshomaru came around later that day to find Inuyasha holding Yuki in her sleep. The exhaustion was too overwhelming for the girl, and after Inuyasha had calmed her sleep took over. Inuyasha was singing softly to make sure she didn't lose control again._

_"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru said. "What did you do to yourself?"_

_Inyasha gave the demon a blank look until he realized Sesshomaru was looking at his bloody shoulder._

_"Yuki lost control. An ice spike hit me. I'm fine, now. As long as Yuki is okay."_

_"Hn."_

_Inuyasha felt frustrated at the fact that Sesshomaru was so unfeeling._

_But he realized that night that Sesshomaru was anything but when it came to their sister._

_Inuyasha and Yuki were put to bed. Yuki was already asleep, so Inuyasha curled up in his bed beside her and tried to get to sleep._

_That was when he heard the voices._

_"What do you mean, 'lost control'?"_

_"Inuyasha claimed that Yuki lost control. I saw his shoulder had been bleeding. And the scent in the room was different. One of a demon, not two hanyou."_

_"But how can that be? Yuki and Inuyasha both are half human! There is no way they can be full-blooded demons!"_

_"Yuki is more demon than her twin. She lost control. Maybe Inuyasha can explain how it happened."_

_Inuyasha heard his mother sobbing. Inu-Taisho was silent. Sesshomaru was fuming._

_Downstairs, Sesshomaru could hear Inuyasha hold his breath upstairs._

_"Inuyasha, come down. You have explaining to do."_

_Inuyasha came down, a guilty expression on his face._

_"Son, tell me everything."_

_Inu-Taisho knelt by the young hanyou boy._

_"I was... telling Yuki about the outside world... She told me she wanted to go outside on her own. I reminded her that demons from the outside may want her dead for what she could do. Then Yuki lost control. She told me she couldn't see me as a brother, just omething in the way. She could only focus on anger..."_

_"It is possible that Yuki, more demon than human, can transform," an unfamiliar voice whispered from Inu-Taisho's hair. The creature jumped down and landed gracefully on the youkai's shoulder._

_"Miyoga, what do you mean?" Inu-Taisho demanded._

_"I have heard of such tales. A hanyou is meant to have open space. If they lose control, there is no telling what they'd do."_

_Inuyasha stared at the demon flea. He never met this wise creature before. It was obvious that he was somewhat of a vassal to Inuyasha's father._

_"What is the best option, flea?" Sesshomaru demanded._

_"I suggest you allow Yuki to go outside... with protection, of course," he added when he saw all the males' furious and horrified faces. "She must not go out without Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, or you, Lord Taisho."_

_The demon lord nodded and looked to his sons. They would have to be given means of defense. Sure, their demon powers were good enough to defeat some demons, but others required a sword, like Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga to destroy._

_He remembered promising is most powerful sword to Sesshomaru before Inuyasha and Yuki were born, but now he realized Inuyasha had a better chance of protecting his sister and future mate with it. Sesshomaru, who felt compassion for his sister under his icy facade, would be better suited for the Tenseiga._

_..._

_It required the help of a powerful sorceress to create a shield spell on Tetsusaiga. Inu-Taisho was deathl afraid of a demon choosing to posess the sword and kiling his precious children with the very sword that protected them._

_"My Lord, the sword and pearl is finished. Are you sure-?"_

_"Yes, I am. When Inuyasha finds this sword, it must be a mortal that can take it out, or Yuki. Inuyasha is too young and selfish to weild it without hurting somebody foolishly."_

_"Very well."_

_The sorceress magicked the sword into the pearl and gave it to Inu-Taisho._

_"Be warned, my Lord," she whispered before he left. "That pearl shall be filled very soon."_

_The sorceress was right. After Yuki's death, Izayoi, followed by the great Inu-Youkai, perished. Sesshomaru became disgusted with humans and discovered his sword had stopped working for him. He ventured to find the Tetsusaiga._

_Inuyasha grew furious and wandered the whole of Japan, searching for a way to become a full-demon and wash away the taint in his blood._

_And Yuki's restless spirit wandered from brother to brother, unseen until the day Sesshomaru lost to his brother..._

_**AN: I'll be getting to THAT in the next chapter...**_


	9. Memory

**_Chapter Nine  
_**

_Sesshomaru was resting. The Mokko-Mokko was around him, serving as a pillow. It was dirty and bloodstained. Obviously, Sesshomaru lost a bloody war._

_Yuki turned to her right and saw a little girl peering at him from behind a tree. She dared not go near, in case the strange man wanted to hurt her, too._

_The little girl was carrying a bucket of water. Yuki realized the girl must've seen Sesshomaru before and the condition he was in. She smiled. This little girl was so kind-hearted._

_Yuki turned to her brother, who was beginning to stir. Her eyes widened._

_Sesshomaru is very violent when he wakes up, and if this little girl should move so much as a muscle-_

_A terrifying growl exited his throat as he sat up with demonic red eyes and glared at the small human girl._

_The girl cowered away at first. Yuki froze. No! Don't move-!_

SPLASH.

_The defiant little girl had come forward with her bucket and threw its contents all over Sesshomaru. It startled the demon to the extent where he didn't bother her when she cleaned his wounds. And then she was gone._

_Yuki sat in a tree and watched as the girl came back hours later with mushrooms._

_"Hn. I do not eat mortal food," Sesshomaru refused coldly._

_The little girl ignored this and left the food for him. Yuki almost laughed. Although the girl never talked, she seemed to have a spunky personality. She didn't accept the cold "no" for an answer._

_Yuki stayed by her half-brother's side for days, watching as he gradually recovered with the help of a mortal girl. Sesshomaru's arm won't grow back. They both knew that._

_One night, Sesshomaru woke from some kind of nightmare. He opened his eyes, red from the fear and excitement, and scanned the forest._

_The senses always seem stronger out of a nightmare, and the demon lord was no exception._

_"Spirit, why do you watch me?" he asked coldly._

_Yuki was a little surprised, but regained her composture and drifted down to the leaves beside Sesshomaru._

_"Is that any way to speak to your sister?" Yuki asked._

_Sesshomaru's eyes widened._

_"No... A trick. Deception," he murmured. Yuki sighed and sat next to him, stroking the Mokko-Mokko. Sesshomaru felt that and started to reach for wherever the hand was, to slash at it with his poison claws._

_Yuki saw this and stopped petting it, moving away._

_"Sesshomaru, I know you must be confused. And I'm sorry for what Inuyasha did to you. I have been traveling back and forth from you to my twin. You cannot believe how upset I am for what he did to you."_

_"Prove to me that you are the spirit of the Princess," Sesshomaru growled. "What was the first lesson this Sesshomaru taught you?"_

_"Gliding, Sesshomaru. You taught me to glide. I crashed into a tree my first time, and father nearly killed you."_

_"Hn. What was the last thing you told me before your death?"_

_"'You will make a great lord, someday, big brother. Only if you open up.'"_

_Sesshomaru's stiff demeanor dropped. He reached out, trying to find Yuki's hand._

_"Yuki..."_

_The sun came out. Yuki felt herself weaken from the daylight._

_"I cannot talk to you for much longer, Sesshomaru. It is day," Yuki whispered. A rustling in the trees caused Sesshomaru to pull out the cold facade and Yuki left him._

_The little girl returned, and Sesshomaru's routine continued._

_Yuki traveled back to her twin, and watched him until nightfall. As soon as Inuyasha was unconscious, Yuki flew away back to Sesshomaru._

_As she expected, Sesshomaru was wide awake, waiting for her._

_"Yuki, why do you not go to heaven? What purpose do you have here?" Sesshomaru demanded immediately after he felt her presence._

_"I hover over the living to watch over you, Sesshomaru. You and my twin. I still have a duty to fulfill, and I will not rest until it is."_

_"Duty?"_

_"My duty is to stay with you until your death. Take care of you when you don't know it."_

_"Yuki, this is nothing for you to involve yourself in-"_

_"If it weren't for me hovering, Inuyasha would have been purified fifty years ago. I'm already dead, so there is no way I could die. I spent fifty years lending Inuyasha my energy to keep him alive."_

_Sesshomaru stayed silent._

You left us,_ he accused in the language of Inu-youkai._

I know. I never meant to.

Human filth-

Don't. Please.

_"Why didn't you save yourself?" Sesshomaru asked aloud._

_"If I used my power to save myself, the boys would have died. Two lives for one is hardly a good trade, and the villagers would fear us all more."_

_"When I came upon that scene... Inuyasha was sobbing over your lifeless form. The boys were nowhere in sight, but I could smell them. The only thing I could think of was that argument over the very same boys and the fact that if you let that kind of thing happen, your image as a Princess of Demons would be tainted."_

_"And I told you that you would be a good lord if you allowed yourself to soften, just a little bit," Yuki added._

_"Izayoi and father died after you did, Yuki," Sesshomaru whispered._

_"I know. I hugged mother and father before they passed on. They didn't have the liberty of roam like I did, because they didn't have the need to stay."_

_Sesshomaru and Yuki talked every night until the day he was well enough to leave. It was the start of a tradition, something that Sesshomaru looked forward to and that Yuki kept fulfilling._

...

"Sesshomaru," Yuki whispered in her sleep. Inuyasha's ears flicked and his head shot up. Why was she dreaming about that bastard?

The door opened. Inuyasha looked up.

"Oi, wench, you said you'd be gone for three days, it's only been one! You miss me already?" It didn't seem he was in much of a mood to tease her completely, so Kagome didn't "sit" him. Instead, she knelt by Yuki's head and lifted it onto her lap.

"My mother made a broth for Yuki. It should help her feel better," Kagome whispered. "Yuki, wake up, you need to drink this."

The room grew colder. Kagome shivered. Yuki's skin was ice-cold!

"She's awake," Inuyasha said helpfully. Kagome looked at him weirdly. How did he know? Was it because they were twins-?

Kagome brushed the messy, uneven hair away from Yuki's face and took out a canister full of a golden liquid. She gently set it on Yuki's lips and tilted it so Yuki could drink it.

Yuki drank the tasty soup and shifted.

"Thank you, mama," she mumbled, falling asleep again. Inuyasha chuckled. Kagome blushed.

"What?"

"Mother used to put our head in her lap and give up soup to drink when we were sick. When you did it, Yuki associated you with our mother," Inuyasha explained quietly.

Kagome smiled and stroked Yuki's hair. Inuyasha crept toward her and took her hand. Kagome blushed furiously.

"I'll take it from here. Go home, you need to take that 'exam' thingy."

"Um, okay... Here, the rest of the broth is in here. Give her half tomorrow. Make sure it's hot, first. Give her the rest the day after. And... um... I'll be back in two days. Bye, Inuyasha."

Kagome gently set Yuki down and left. Inuyasha watched her go.

"Inuyasha," Yuki whispered.

"I knew you weren't asleep," Inuyasha said, looking down.

"I'm still tired. But... Kagome's a good big sister," Yuki said before she really did fall asleep.

Inuyasha spent the next two days pondering what that meant.


	10. Inuyasha's Emotions

**_Chapter Ten_**

"Higurashi!"

Kagome groaned. She needed to get to the well before Inuyasha got impatient again and came after her! She did _not _want a repeat of last time...

"Hojo-kun, I'm in a rush right now, please make it quick," Kagome moaned. Hojo paused before continuing.

"I just wanted to ask you if... you'd like to go see a movie with me. I mean, if you'll feel up to it that day."

"Hojo, I can't, I-"

"Please? I'll bring medicine and we can go to a little cafe I found downtown that has so many flavors of tea and-"

"She said she can't," a voice growled from behind the flustered male. Hojo nearly jumped out of his skin and turned.

"Inuyasha, I told you to stay and look after your sister until I came back!"

"Old Kaede's looking after her, why are you so angry?"

Kagome was thinking about "sitting" him, but then remembered Hojo and decided against it. That would be a tough thing to explain. Instead, she smiled a smile Inuyasha knew well and walked past him to her bike.

"Sorry, Hojo, I'll be with Inuyasha and his... um... little sister! Maybe some other time, okay?"

Inuyasha ran along with her. Hojo just stood there, confused and most of all rejected.

"Hey, why'd you call Yuki my 'little sister'? She's my twin and people have a right to know!"

"Inuyasha, in this era, twins don't come back to life from the dead looking exactly the same as before their death. She's stuck as a seven-year-old, while you're fifteen. You can't just claim you were born at the same time or it'll raise some questions!"

"Can you at least explain to me why Hojo is asking you to go to a 'cafe'?"

"He wanted to ask me out, okay?"

"'Asking you out'?"

"Your time knows it as 'courting'," Kagome sniffed. She didn't even notice Inuyasha slowed down some with a pained expression on his face. She had told Hojo 'some other time'. She liked that asshole?

Kagome beat Inuyasha home and ran upstairs to get her pack. Inuyasha sat on the shrine steps, sulking.

"Inuyasha!" Oh, great, Souta came home.

"Hey, kid," Inuyasha grumbled, putting his cheek in his hand and looking away.

"Play with me! Please?"

"No."

"Why not? What's wrong with you? You're all mopey."

Inuyasha shrugged and scooted away from the kid. Damn, he's so annoying!

"Are you and Kagome fighting?"

Inuyasha was startled that the kid had caught on so quickly.

"No, not really."

"What is it, then?"

"That Hojo guy wants to court Kagome. Kagome told him 'some other time'. As in, she's too busy searching for jewel shards in my era to court him _now_."

Souta started laughing. Inuyasha stared at him like he was crazy.

"What's so funny?" Inuyasha demanded.

"She doesn't want to date Hojo!" Souta laughed, tears streaming down his face. "In this era, we use that as a way of letting them down without making them feel bad! Trust, me, why do you think she talks about you all the time- oops."

Inuyasha's face was as red as his robes and his ears twitched. So, Kagome talked about him?

"What does... she say about me?" Inuyasha asked slowly.

"She mostly talks about how heroic you are during battles, but when she's not talking about that she's talking about how stubborn and jealous you get and then it's about you and Kikyo."

That made Inuyasha feel guilty. Yeah, he knew how hurt Kagome was when he returned all the time from his meetings with Kikyo. And when she died and Kagome was out of danger, Inuyasha left her as soon as he could to search for Kikyo. When he came back, he saw the hurt and betrayal clear on Kagome's face.

_You really hurt her now, pup,_ Kouga had growled at him through an Inu-message. The wolf left with that.

_Baka_, Hakkaku and Ginta growled to him in their heads before following their leader.

"She doesn't talk about me... normally? As in, what I say to her or even about me and the group?"

"Inuyasha, Kagome usually keeps that stuff to herself. If you want to know what she thinks about you, ask her yourself."

The door opened and Kagome ran out, turning to look at Inuyasha.

"Come on, slowpoke, you want to get back, don't you?" she demanded.

"Please, _I'm_ the slow one?"

Inuyasha proved his point by picking her up and carrying her to the well and jumping in.

"Hey, we all can't be half demon, you know!"

"Feh."

...

As they reached the village, Inuyasha's ears perked. His eyes shot straight for Kaede's hut. Kagome noticed this and followed his eyeline.

"Inuyasha, what's... wrong..."

The door gave way. But it wasn't Kaede or one of the group that pulled the bamboo curtain aside.

Inuyasha set Kagome down and shot forward. Kagome thought she saw tears form in his eyes.

Yuki ran toward her brother. She was already crying. Once they reached each other, Inuyasha picked her up and squeezed her tight. Yuki clenched his haori in her fists and continued to sob.

"Yuki, Yuki, Yuki..." Inuyasha cooed.

"Inuyasha I missed you, I was gone and I could never speak to you but I always saw you and..."

"Shh... It's okay, it's okay," Inuyasha whispered. "Shhh..."

Kagome felt tears of happiness prickle in her eyes. Inuyasha was so happy right now, it made her happy. She saw Yasu in the doorway, smiling sadly. She was leaning against the doorframe watching the newly reunited siblings. Kagome approached her.

"Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?" Yasu asked of her. Kagome looked at the two before answering.

"Never."

"She woke up as soon as her brother had gone. When I told her Inuyasha was gone, she started to stand. I never saw a being that was resurrected stand so strongly before, not after just days after they've come back. Usually, it would take weeks... for somebody to stand. There is a fire in her, that burns slowly. But in times like this, it roared to life... She went to the door and left as soon as she sensed her brother returning."

"They're happy."

"Of course they are. There is nothing stronger than the bond between twins. If a string of two snaps, the other will do the best it can to keep it up. When both snap, one will be little to nothing without their other half. Inuyasha hasn't seen his other half in nine years... Or, nine years to him."

"Thank you, Yasu, you are really a selfless creature."

"Selfless?" Yasu scoffed. "I did this as payment to join your group. Naraku wronged me. You're all aiming to do the exact same thing I want to do. Inuyasha could have asked for anything- money, riches, a chance to become a full demon... He chose his sister. Out of all that I could offer him, he chose his sister. I paid my fare. It has nothing to do with selflessness."

"Yasu, you could have come with us, and not have to lift a finger for us. You chose to pay Inuyasha. That is selflessness."

Yasu did a very Inuyasha-like gesture and scoffed again, walking off.

Inuyasha set Yuki down and watched the sorceress leave.

"What's her problem?" he wondered.

"She doesn't seem to think bringing Yuki back was selfless," Kagome explained.

"Keh, selfless or not, I owe her one for it."

Yuki only smiled and hugged Inuyasha's leg.

...

Yasu eventually came back. But she refused to talk to anyone and she was using the cooking pot to brew up something that smelled like a mix of honey and pine. Harumi had, for once, abandoned Shippo and did her job as an herb collector, running in and out of the village to grab nameless ingredients.

"Whatever it is, it has to be poisonous," Inuyasha muttered, sniffing the air as Harumi passed by carrying a root-like object. Yuki plugged her nose. Hers was stronger than his and it smelled awful.

"How do you know?" Sango asked.

"That root came from a plant somewhere deep in the forest. It is used by gas makers to create a vile gas that eats at your lungs and body from the inside out," Miroku answered for him.

"That sounds like mustard gas," Kagome mused. "It was used in wars about fifty or so years from my era. It's horrible to be used, but it's also handy for the country that uses it."

"It can kill a youkai by poisoning its senses," Inuyasha growled. "Naturally, we get more affected by the gas than humans. I'm vulnerable, even as a hanyou. And I'm more human than Yuki."

Inuyasha realized the truth in his words and looked down. Yuki was trying to hold her breath. She was sweating.

"Uh, I need to get her some air," Inuyasha explained quickly, picking up the little girl and jumping away from the hut. Kagome got on Kirara's back and followed.

When she reached the Goshinboku, Inuyasha's destination, Yuki was panting for air and Inuyasha was propping her up.

"Here, have her drink some water," Kagome told him, giving him a water bottle. "It helps."

Inuyasha opened it quickly and gave it to Yuki. She drank half of the bottle before she came up for air. She coughed and took some deep breaths.

"Thanks, Kagome, you're a life-saver," Yuki said in a quiet voice. Kagome knelt in front of her and pulled her hair out of her face. Yuki took her hands away from her head and cringed away. Kagome felt a jab in her heart and backed away, hurt. Yuki noticed this and shook her head.

"I didn't mean that personally," she whispered. "I just... can't get the memories out of my head."

"What memories?"

Inuyasha's ears flattened. He knew what his sister was talking about.

"The boys of the village were... rude. They would throw sticks and stones at me and they called me names. Sometimes, they get too far and do more horrible deeds, like cutting my hair." Yuki played with one of the few long locks of hair she had. "The boy who did it... He had his brother pull my hair until I cried out in pain and he used a knife to cut it. It hurt. When I came home, everyone, including Sesshomaru, started to freak out."

"Sesshomaru?" Kagome tilted her head to the side. Inuyasha looked a little shocked, too. He knew Sesshomaru left to try to kill the boys, but he didn't freak. He was still his usual, stoic self.

"Sesshomaru was always kind to me. He treated me with respect. When I come home with a cut or torn clothing from the boys of the village, his eyes grew red with wild fury. He tries to hide it, but I see it."

Now Kagome wasn't the only one with a tilted head. Yuki giggled at the identical postures and expressions on her brother and "sister"'s faces.

"Why are you different to Sesshomaru? I've seen him cut down plenty demons and he even treated Inuyasha like dirt. But you're a hanyou, like Inuyasha. In fact, you're twins!"

Yuki looked surprised.

"Inuyasha never told you?" she asked.

"Told me what?"

Inuyasha sighed.

"When Yuki and I were both the same age, just kids, Yuki was known as the 'Princess of Youkai'. She was respected all over."

"Why?"

"Because I can do this," Yuki whispered conspiratorially. She raised her hands in the air and snow began to fall. Kagome shivered. She may have long sleeves, but she was wearing a mini-skirt, for crying out loud!

**Back at the Village**

"Huh? 'Tis harvesting season, it is too early still for snow," Kaede wondered.

"Strange..." Shippo whispered.

"I suggest we celebrate this astonishing miracle," Miroku said, rubbing Sango's butt. Sango, suddenly not in a celebrating mood, smacked him.

**In the forest...**

Kirara recognized the gentle aura that associated with the snow and bowed. The Princess was back at last.

A snowflake touched Inuyasha's ear and it twitched, not used to the cold. Yuki's snow, which was colder than normal snow, hasn't touched his head for many years. He wasn't used to it anymore.

"Yuki... Is that... snow?" Kagome asked, catching a flake in her hands.

"Yes... Lady Kirara, you have no reason to bow to me," Yuki whispered, looking at the two-tail. Kirara blinked and stood up straight.

"A companion to the great Midoriko has no need to bow to me," Yuki explained. Inuyasha smiled and sat down next to Yuki, hugging her.

"You're still the same," he whispered.

"Of course, brother."

Kagome smiled and sat down next to Yuki, hugging her and -much to his surprise- Inuyasha.

"You're so humble," Kagome told her. "You are definitely fitting to be a princess."

"Thank you, sister Kagome," Yuki giggled. She watched Kagome and Inuyasha turn red. Inuyasha figured out her meaning, she guessed.

_**AN: Aw, I can just imagine the three hugging! Inuyasha on Yuki's left, Kagome on Yuki's right, all three blushing slightly and Kagome hugging them all!**_

_**Reviews are very much appreciated. Thank you.**_

_**Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and only Rumiko Takahashi.**_

_**Yasu, Harumi, and Yuki, however, are mine.**_


	11. Connected

**_Chapter Eleven_**

Inuyasha was strict about keeping Yuki indoors. And, as a result, he also kept a very irritated miko inside with Yuki "just in case she tries to escape".

There was an army of demons waiting miles away. Everyone except- guess who?- Kagome and Yuki stayed behind. Kagome tried for the millionth time to purify the barrier Yasu and Harumi put up, but to no avail. And she was down to her last arrow.

"Damn you, Inuyasha, what if you got hurt?" Kagome screeched, throwing her bow down and pacing around the room. Yuki was sitting quietly by the fire square, watching the water turn from lukewarm to freezing and back to lukewarm.

"He won't get hurt," Yuki whispered. "I would feel it if he did."

Kagome finally sat down and stared at the water's surface. Yuki continued to freeze and unfreeze the water. Then she stopped, wrapping her arms around her knees and resting her chin down.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked.

"I wonder if Sesshomaru is still traveling around, or if he's fighting demons elsewhere. I last saw him a month ago, at my river. We were supposed to meet yesterday."

_Yuki could talk to Sesshomaru from beyond the dead? So, she wasn't completely gone?_ Kagome wondered to herself. Instead of bringing up such a mournful topic, however, she asked a different question.

"I'm guessing you and Sesshomaru were close, then?"

"I am the only one who has ever seen Sesshomaru smile."

Kagome tried to imagine Sesshomaru smiling. It scared her and she stopped.

"Why is that?"

Yuki smiled and looked Kagome fully in the eye.

"When he laid eyes on me after I was born, he caught a connection. It is rare for demons, but common in humans. Love, humans call it. But youkai, especially inu-youkai, call it 'Litter Guardian'. Sesshomaru is my litter guardian. He always cared for me. If I tripped and cut myself in his presence, he would come to my side and heal my wounds. Sesshomaru has a compassionate side, of course, but the problem for him is showing it."

"That's amazing! I never knew that... Do connections happen from outside the litter?"

"Sure, there are mate connections- again, a rare one, because it's usually the demon's choice who to mate- guardian connections, enemy connections- that is often confused with dislike. If there is a descendant that meets another descendant of sworn enemies, they will both feel a hatred toward each other and not know why- and even spirit connections. If there is a spirit that is close to a living youkai, that youkai will be able to converse with them. I tried with Inuyasha, but he is more human than demon, and it was a pain to try to get his attention. Sesshomaru, being my guardian and all, could sense me easily."

"You watched over Inuyasha?"

"Yes, I did. I was with him almost all the time, for sixty-eight years."

"Sixty-eight?"

"I was sealed to the tree, too. The arrow Kikyo struck my brother with was full of hatred. It was in no state to be a sealing arrow. Inuyasha would have died, had I not given him spiritual energy."

Kagome was rendered speechless. She thought it was only the sealing arrow that contained the two of them; to imagine Kikyo with so much fury centered around Inuyasha frightened her. It was a good, lucky chance Yuki was there to be sealed, too, or disaster would have stricken.

"Kagome, do you like my brother?" Yuki asked randomly.

"I..."

"I mean, like a friend," Yuki encouraged.

Kagome blushed. _Friend_ didn't cover it. She nodded. Yuki smiled.

Little did they know, the group was finished exterminating youkai and Yasu had gone ahead to unseal the hut. She was sitting on the roof with a smile on her face. She knew everything.

The potion she made Kagome and Inuyasha drink the first day they met didn't randomly make them fall in love. The point of the potion was to bring forth their emotions to each other, be it hate, love, lust, or heartbreak. And although Inuyasha and Kagome were good actors, they couldn't hide the truth from a half-demon sorceress.

Yuki was the first to sense the barrier lifting. She stood up.

"Inuyasha's coming back. They've got company," she whispered to Kagome. Yasu, still on the roof, frowned.

Company? She didn't remember anybody fighting alongside them... Inuyasha must've picked them up after Yasu went ahead.

"I sense a jewel shard coming by fast," Kagome gasped. "It's small, but it's still a shard."

Inuyasha was there before the rest were. He seemed to be in a great hurry.

"Yuki, you need to hide," he said frantically. He picked her up and jumped onto the roof.

"Wait, Inuyasha, who's coming that you need to hide her so badly-?" Kagome wondered, rushing outside to look at the three on the roof.

"Yasu, I need you to take her to the skies. Teach her to fly- something! Anything, just keep her far from here until I find you."

"Um, okay..." Yasu took Yuki into the air and flew away until they were mere specks in the distance. Inuyasha jumped down and ran inside the hut, searching.

"What are you doing now?" Kagome demanded, coming in to find him digging through the yellow pack.

"That floral mist, where is it?" Inuyasha demanded.

"My perfume? It's right here," Kagome pulled it out from the front flap. Inuyasha snatched it and sprayed it all over the place. "Hey! That cost a lot of money! Besides, you said you hated the smell."

"It'll mask Yuki's scent," he explained.

"Who's coming?" Kagome demanded.

"Sesshomaru."

_**AN: Muahaha, yes, the Killing Perfection is coming... Why is Inuyasha hiding Yuki from her Guardian? Will Sesshomaru discover what Inuyasha was hiding?**_


	12. Inside Sesshomaru's Heart

**_Chapter Twelve_**

Inyasha was stiff until Sesshomaru and his group arrived and Sesshomaru seemed not to notice anything.

"Hanyou, where is your wench?" Sesshomaru demanded. Kagome, inside the hut, seethed silently to herself. She put up with _Inuyasha's_ name-calling, but Sesshomaru made her really mad.

"_Kagome_ is inside," Inuyasha growled. Sesshomaru made his way to the hut and pulled back the bamboo curtain.

"Miko, I require your presence," he said. Kagome rose and stood before the Taiyoukai.

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama?" she asked.

Sesshomaru held out his hand. Inside was a small shard of the jewel. Kagome accepted it and gave him a questioning look.

"Rin found it and never told me. When she did, it was after three youkai tried to kill her. I leave this in your care," Sesshomaru explained. Before he could turn to leave, he saw the cooking water was half-frozen. It reminded him of Yuki. She was supposed to meet him...

In a blind rage, Sesshomaru struck at the pot, spilling its contents on the floor. Kagome screamed in surprise. Everyone rushed in.

"Oi! Watch it!" Inuyasha yelled, pulling the miko away from his half-brother. Looking down, he saw what made Sesshomaru mad.

The puddles of water and ice caught everyone's attention.

"Ice?" Sango inquired.

Sesshomaru began to growl.

"You are hiding her, Inuyasha," he spat. "GIVE ME BACK MY SISTER!"

Everyone ran out of the hut. Sesshomaru was known never to yell. This was serious. Inuyasha followed close behind.

"She was supposed to meet me! I though she had passed on, or she had forgotten. YOU TOOK HER AWAY FROM ME!"

"Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin yelled, rushing over. Jakken stood in front of her.

"No, Rin, do not go further! Should you be struck by an attack, you may surely die!"

Sesshomaru was beginning to transform. Kirara took Rin, Harumi, and Shippo away from the area. Sango braced herself for the worst. Miroku held the beads that sealed his right hand, ready to rip them off. Inuyasha... did absolutely nothing.

"I did no such thing, Sesshomaru," he said calmly.

"Lies! All lies!"

"Sesshomaru-sama, I believe the half-breed speaks the truth!" Jaken pleaded.

"No, the water had her scent. It had a demonic aura. IT WAS ICE!"

Inuyasha stood in front of Kagome, shielding her in case Sesshomaru attacked.

The great Taiyoukai transformed.

Everyone prepped for battle.

_Meanwhile..._

"Hey, Yuki," Yasu said.

They were sitting in a tree dropping leaves to see whose touched the ground first. The little hanyou didn't want to fly, and Yasu wasn't in the mood for magic.

"Hai, Yasu-chan?"

"What would make your brother act like that? To put you in my care and tell me to take you far away?"

"I don't really know. He is known for taking things too far, but he never really did this before."

"Hm. Well, he probably took a serious blow to the head or something. Knowing him, he'd never let you out of his sight. There are demons that would just love to have you around for dinner."

"I am not afraid."

Yasu looked over to the branch beside her and at the little princess.

"I would suppose not, Highness," Yasu agreed. "Demo, Inuyasha _would_ be. What would make him react so strangely?"

"I suppose... there might be somebody that Inuyasha wouldn't openly attack, but all the same doesn't trust with the secret of my being," Yuki began.

"Who?"

"Well, there's Kouga-kun, of course. He's a pain in Inuyasha's backside, but Inuyasha would never kill him. And... Oh! Sesshomaru, but he would still be..." _Waiting for me or travelling,_ Yuki finished in her head.

Yasu noticed her silence and stopped questioning. She leaned her head against the tree and closed her eyes. Maybe just a few moments' rest...

There was a funny tugging sensation in her stomach, as if there was something she needed to do back at the village. Yasu ignored it, but the tugging continued.

Yuki stood on her branch suddenly, making Yasu's eyes pop open.

"Something's wrong," Yuki whispered. "Inuyasha's in danger!"

Yasu gave Yuki wings and the two flew as fast as they could back to the village. It would take them a while, Yasu knew, because she took Inuyasha's order seriously. There would be no demon in the village's province that could sense them from where they were.

...

"Inuyasha, look out!" Miroku yelled. Inuyasha turned and jumped just in time to dodge another bite from Sesshomaru. Hiraikotsu hit Sesshomaru in the head and her turned to slash with his paw at Sango.

"Sango-chan!" Kagome screamed, pushing her out of the way. The two girls landed roughly in the dirt and got back up quickly. Kagome looked Sesshomaru straight in the eye.

"Sesshomaru-sama, why would you attack us? Why would you attack because of Yuki? Can't you see she's not here?" Kagome yelled defiantly.

"Baka, get out of the way!" Inuyasha yelled, rushing over to pull her away from another attack.

"What made him so angry all of a sudden?" Miroku asked.

"I don't know!" Inuyasha lied.

They had been fighting for twenty minutes. Already, Inuyasha was looking fatigued. He could really use a break, but Sesshomaru was unrelenting.

"SESSHOMARU!"

Sesshomaru's eyes widened at the voice and he looked up.

Yuki was flying at him with incredible speed- with a hanyou sorceress trailing close behind!

The wings on Yuki's back disappeared. The silver object that was originally connected to her spine was severed, and it flew back up into Yasu's palm.

"What?" the sorceress gasped. The wings weren't supposed to reject her! "No, Princess!"

Sesshomaru transformed and Yuki crashed into him, sending them both into the ground and tumbling a few yards back. Yasu landed quickly and followed Inuyasha, Kagome, Jaken, and Rin as they rushed to the two.

"Yuki!" Inuyasha yelled. As soon as the dust cloud disappeared, everyone was met with a strange, alien sight.

Yuki was in Sesshomaru's lap hugging him like no tomorrow. Tears were trailing down her face.

The weird part was, Sesshomaru was allowing tears to trickle down _his_ cheeks, too! He was crushing Yuki to him, as if he'd never let go ever again. And he probably wouldn't.

"What?" Inuyasha whispered, blown away by Sesshomaru's show of emotions.

"Sesshomaru-sama's crying..." Rin gasped. Jaken's mouth was bound to catch flies by now, and his already large eyes grew larger.

"He spent much of his life pushing the blame on himself for her death," Kagome whispered. Everyone- besides Sesshomaru and Yuki- turned to look at her with shock.

"How do you know?" Miroku asked.

"How dare you say Sesshomaru-sama blames himself for a half-breed's death!" Jaken yelled. He failed to notice the Taiyoukai in question approaching quickly. A foot connected with the demon's head and Jaken ate dirt.

"The 'half-breed' is my sole duty to protect, Jaken," Sesshomaru growled. Yuki rushed over to hug Inuyasha.

...

"So Yuki and Sesshomaru shared a special bond since birth?" Inuyasha inquired later that day, during a large feast prepared by Kaede, Kagome, and Yasu. Sesshomaru said nothing but drank the sake in his cup.

"Yes," Yuki said. "Ever since Sesshomaru laid eyes on mine, he was destined to be my guardian. Until I was old enough to put my life in the hands of another protector, of course."

"You think it'd have been nice to let _me_ know, at least. I wouldn't have hidden you in the first place, otherwise," Inuyasha grumbled, putting his cheek in his hand. Kagome smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'll let you know next time," Yuki apologized.

While everyone was conversing, Sesshomaru decided to leave for a quieter place. Of course, that meant sitting beside the sorceress, but Sesshomaru didn't seem to care.

"Yo," Yasu said simply. That was the only indication she made that said she acknowledged his presence. She didn't seem very interested in him, so Sesshomaru didn't bother to move away.

Although, the Taiyoukai was certainly interested in what _did_ have the female's attention. He snuck a peek.

The half-demon was studying her charm, the one that deattatched itself from Yuki's back. There seemed to be nothing wrong with it, but Sesshomaru could sense the girl's frustration.

"Sorceress, what ails you?" Sesshomaru demanded.

"This blasted contraption. It rejected Yuki, and yet it has never done so before," Yasu explained, trying to pry it open it with her talons. Sesshomaru noticed they were unusually short for a hanyou's. She must cut them.

"Allow this Sesshomaru to try," he insisted, reaching out to her.

Yasu looked at his hand skeptically.

"Please," Sesshomaru said. In a way, he surprised himself. He never said please to anybody. Not even to Yuki, who never gave him trouble.

Yasu handed the device to him, and their eyes met.

"..."

_**AN: Dun, dun, duuuuuun!**_

_**For Hanna-chan, since I know how much you were discouraged by Yasu's infatuation with Kouga. Here's a little OOC moment for our Sesshy!  
**_


	13. Saimyosho

**_Chapter Thirteen_**

Yuki noticed that Sesshomaru wasn't like himself the following week.

Sure, she's seen him when he smiled, and everyone saw him when he was crying. But other than that, he was a cold, heartless youkai that didn't care whether or not his followers left him.

But... the ice was melting. Yuki could see that. The only thing she didn't know was why and how. She saw the same thing happen with Kagome and Inuyasha. Inuyasha, a rude, untrusting hanyou, had his heart warmed by a human that had a bit of a temper herself.

Rin was singing a little song she composed herself. Jaken seemed ready to toss her off a cliff if it didn't mean his head would follow soon after. Yuki jumped onto Ah-Un's back and sang along with her. Soon, the two girls were giggling and playing with each other like they'd been best friends forever. Yuki even allowed Rin to braid her hair- something she throughly despised- and to touch her doggy ears.

Yasu smiled at the two. She didn't know why she was so happy that Rin was Sesshomaru's ward. Maybe she was a sign of the Ice Lord's softness?

"Inuyasha, where are we going?" Kagome begged. Inuyasha looked at Yuki.

"We're going to Totosai's," he said. "Yuki needs some sort of defense, in the case that everyone else is busy fighting something else."

Yuki nodded. Inuyasha told her and Sesshomaru that morning. Sesshomaru wasn't entirely keen on the idea of her fighting on her own, but agreed that giving her a sword she could use to defend herself was essential.

**Bzzzz**...

"Huh?" The group looked up.

"Naraku's Saimyosho!" Inuyasha yelled, taking out the Tetsusaiga. "Kill them before they return to Naraku!"

Kagome nocked an arrow and the Inu brothers leaped into the air. There were so _many_...

"Hiraikotsu!"

"Kaze no Kizu!"

Sesshomaru threw in a special attack with his Tokijin, but in the midst of the yelling, his quiet voice was unheard.

Yasu started to chant and swung her own sword. The force of the attack was so strong, it completely destroyed the steel sword.

Kagome shot a straight path for the heart of the swarm. All the attacks at once left a blinding light. Everyone shielded their eyes. That was their downfall, because they failed to see a single, battered Saimyosho take one look at Yuki before flying away.

...

_Meanwhile..._

...

"Interesting," a cold voice murmured.

A girl with white hair and clothing was holding a mirror to the man, but it wasn't a reflection he saw.

"Naraku," a whispery voice arose from the girl's mouth. "What is it?"

"It seems, Kanna, that we have found Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's weakness," Naraku laughed, gazing at the image of the little hanyou girl on the two-headed dragon's back. Too bad she was covering her face from the light.

In the room was also a young taijiya, a demon boy, and Kagura, the wind sorceress.

Kohaku was staring at his sister. Hakudoshi and Kagura were staring at the little Princess.

"Yuki, the Demon Princess," Naraku addressed the mirror, "I look forward to meeting you soon. Kagura, Kohaku, leave!"

The two nodded and departed.

"I would like to see if death has muddled her power," Hakudoshi said gleefully. "She would make a most entertaining toy."

...

"What exactly is your problem?" Yasu demanded that night. She had left to sit down peacefully in a tree and found a certain Taiyoukai staring at her from the campfire. Everyone looked back and forth between the inu and sorceress. Jaken stood up immediately.

"How dare you treat Sesshomaru-sama that way! He'll have your head!" he screamed.

"Zip it, you irritating toad," Yasu growled at him. She flashed her talons, which were growing red with magic. The little demon "eep"ed and hid behind Rin.

"How dare she! Sesshomaru-sama, surely you won't stand to take these insults!"

"I agree with the bird," Sesshomaru growled, looking irritably at his servant. Yasu smirked and stood up on the branch, turning away from the group.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm tired and I want some peace and quiet," she turned to Sesshomaru, who was getting ready to get up and finished, "ALONE."

They all watched her fly away and turned on Sesshomaru.

"What was that about?" Kagome wondered.

"Who knew the Ice Prince had a soft spot?" Inuyasha laughed. Sesshomaru glared.

"Leave him alone," Yuki defended him, gripping Inuyasha's arm and freezing his ramen.

"Aw, Yuki, why'd you do that? Now it'll take even longer to cook!" her twin complained.

"Inuyasha, cut it out or I'll say the word," Kagome threatened.

"But seriously, my lord, what was that about?" Sango asked.

"This Sesshomaru will not answer any questions," the Taiyoukai said coldly before leaving in the opposite direction Yasu left. He decided he needed space, too. Besides, he was confused himself.

_Hmm, I noticed he's been acting off since he met that annoying sorceress,_ Jaken thought to himself. He looked back and forth between the spot Sesshomaru left and Yasu left. _She _is_ the only person that treats him indifferently. Maybe he finds her to be a good friend. Nothing more, just company._

"Well, whatever," Inuyasha scoffed. "Sesshomaru's love life is nothing for us to intrude on. As far as we know, the closest thing he's had to intimacy was Rin's hugs."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome hissed, smacking him in the head.

"What? It's true."

Yasu was keeping a barrier to keep away annoying pervs and the dog demon that never seems to leave her be. She couldn't stand him. Why does he seem to like her over all the others? Was it because she treated him like any other person?

Sesshomaru was sitting under a tree, thinking. Why did he feel so comforted around that sorceress? She had an attitude that would normally flare him up, and on top of that, she was a _hanyou_. But her aura... it made him feel warm, when everyone else had some way or another to annoy him. WHY?

_**AN: I would like to thank **sangoscourage** for all her wonderful ideas and support. You're awesome, girl!**_


	14. Human Fear

**_AN: This chapter is dedicated to my best friend. You're awesome, girl!_**

**_Chapter Four_****_teen_**

"Kagome, what's the point of being here if there's no action, let alone a jewel shard?"

"Inuyasha, why can't you appreciate the view?" Miroku asked.

The entire group was standing on the top of a cliff. They could see mountains, valleys, and way off in the distance, a beach. Yasu was sitting on the edge, dangling her feet.

"I've never seen a cliff drop so far down," she said. "This should be fun."

"What so fun about a cliff? We're wasting our time," Inuyasha grumbled. Yasu looked at him with shock in her eyes.

"You mean you don't like the natural formation of rock, made by water eroding the surface and creating a monumental structure?" she asked. Everyone stared at her. "What? I stole one of Kagome's books. It's hard to believe in her time books and schooling can be for the poor, too!"

"Which reminds me, I have another test next week to study for..." Kagome mumbled to herself, opening her backpack and taking out said book.

"Keh, you all are boring, I need action!" Inuyasha growled.

"Well, there's a couple of demons fighting over a jewel shard down by the base of the cliff," Yasu said, standing up.

"What? Kagome, why didn't you tell me? Where?"

Kagome smiled to herself. At least Yasu was keeping him busy.

"Right there, if you look way down..."

Inuyasha leaned over to look around.

"I don't see any- AHHH!"

Yasu whooped and jumped off the cliff, following Inuyasha closely. The rest of the group, minus Kagome, peered over the edge to watch the performance.

The bird hanyou sped her plummeting and caught the inu, bringing him back up to almost twice the height of the cliff before dropping him again.

Finally, she decided to give him a break and placed one of her wing charms on his back. She made sure it was firmly in place. She didn't want it to reject him like it did Yuki.

Everyone watched with interest as Inuyasha sprouted red and orange wings. Yasu was the most interested. Usually twins have the same wings, and Yuki's wings were pure white... She shook it off.

"Well, you wanted action," she teased, flying beside him with her arms behind her head.

"I'll kill you!" Inuyasha yelled, flying toward her with blinding speed. He reappeared right behind her.

"Huh?" Everyone wondered. The demons and Yuki smiled. They saw the trick.

When Inuyasha tried to tackle her in midair again, Yasu flew with instant speed to the side and returned to her original spot. She turned and smirked at him.

"You'll have to be faster than that, _puppy_," she taunted.

Inuyasha charged forward again. Yasu flew downward, spiralling and laughing. Inuyasha followed.

"That looks like fun, let me join!" Harumi yelled, cannonballing off the cliff. She sprouted wings herself and flew with the two, laughing and playing a game of air-tag.

Shippo watched with interest as the three split up and joined together, play-fighting. Inuyasha seemed to be having too much fun now to really want to kill the sorceress. Good thing, too, because a certain demon was rigid the entire time.

"_Hmm, hm, hmm..._" Kagome hummed. Rin stared at the white things she had stuck in her ears.

"Lady Kagome, what are these?" she asked, taking one out. Kagome looked up from her book and smiled.

"It's music," she answered. "Here, put it in your ear."

Rin did as she was told and a soft melody reached her ear. A woman was singing about being fifteen years old.

"How'd you get a woman in there?" she asked.

Kagome laughed.

"In my world, you can record her voice and listen to it whenever you want. I have many other songs. Here's one of my favorites..."

Kagome pressed a button on the strange metallic rectangle and classical music drifted in Rin's mind.

"I know that song!" she gasped. "Sesshomaru-sama had a youkai musician play it in his lands. It's very pretty."

"Eh? Rin, don't be rude, leave the miko alone!" Jaken scolded her.

"Jaken, listen! It's music!"

Rin placed an earbud into the demon's ear. He squawked.

"How did you trap the musician in there?"

Kagome explained it all over again patiently.

"LOOK OUT BELOW!" Yasu yelled. Kagome looked up just in time to see Yasu dive-bombing... Right into Inuyasha.

"WHAT THE HELL?" he was heard yelling when they dropped past the cliff's edge.

"Looks like he'll need some food after his energy is spent," Kagome sighed, smiling. She put the iPod in Jaken's care and went to start a fire.

"Let me help you with that," a voice startled her. Kagome squeaked and turned around, tripping on a log and falling backwards.

"Oops," she laughed. Yasu giggled and helped her up.

"Sorry, I thought you knew I was behind you," she explained. She took out her sword and struck the pile of logs. Immediately they burst into flame.

"Thanks," Kagome bowed and picked up her kettle. "Wait here while I get some water..."

"No, I'll get it. Think of it as repaying you for scaring you earlier," Yasu offered, taking the kettle.

The two girls grinned and Yasu left to find a stream. Kagome wasn't very surprised to find someone else missing from camp, as well.

...

"Witch."

"This 'witch' has a name, you know," Yasu said cooly, filling up the kettle with water. Sesshomaru paused. He rarely even had to speak to capture a person's attention, let alone say their name. Yasu was very brave to demand something, even so small as that, from a _Taiyoukai_.

"Mistress Yasu," he began again.

"Better. What do you want?"

Sesshomaru felt his irritation flare up. This hanyou had the nerve-!

"Why do you seek to put yourself below humans?"

"Why? I have no reason. I merely do it because to humans I owe an everlasting debt."

"What debt do you, a demon sorceress, have to repay humans, such disposable and vile creatures?"

Yasu was silent for a long time. The only sound that was heard was the trickling of the stream. Sesshomaru felt impatient.

"The man who took me in as his daughter, and overlooked what most people would say made me a monster, was human. He made the villagers see me as just a child, and little by little, I earned a reputation and their trust. It is far better than fear and hate. Wouldn't you agree, Sesshomaru-sama?"

"Hn. I know no such thing," he said.

"I disagree. I don't believe Rin follows you out of fear, nor does Jaken willingly try to prove himself to you because you threaten his life. If a child is afraid, they run. Jaken feels indebted to you, because you supposedly saved him, and allow him to accompany you."

Sesshomaru was surprised. Yasu seemed eerily similar to Yuki. They both noticed how the girl and his vassal never really seemed to fear him.

"Inuyasha and his friends are also a group of humans that treat me equally," Yasu continued. "I know I need to repay them, somehow... I brought back Yuki as a piece of my payment. I can see that she make Inuyasha happier than he's ever been... But that may be because she's his literal other half, a twin."

For a long while, the two neither spoke nor made any contact as they walked back to the camp. It was finally Sesshomaru who broke the silence.

"Why do you seem not to fear me, a Taiyoukai with the power to do away with you for your constant insolence?" Sesshomaru inquired.

"You cannot threaten me," Yasu replied simply, "any more than I can threaten you."

Normally, Sesshomaru would take out his Tokijin to prove a point, but oddly enough, he agreed with her. She was the only creature that treated him like a friend, rather than a master, enemy, or feared being. He felt like if she were to be harmed, he would go insane with grief and fury.

"I suppose having a friend does that to a person," Yasu said, as if she read his mind.

"Hn."

...

"Inuyasha, get down here!" Kagome yelled, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him as he flew high above them.

"Relax, if a big, bad monster comes around, I'll be there," he yelled back.

"Dinner is almost ready, get your ass down here, now!"

Inuyasha felt really scared. Kagome never really cussed, and she saved it for special occasions. She must really be irritated. He landed before she said the magic word.

"What's made you so irritable all of a sudden?" he demanded.

"Yasu and Sesshomaru are missing, and have been for half an hour! If Sesshomaru laid his hands on her, I'll-"

"I doubt Sesshomaru would find the will even to try," Yuki interrupted her.

"What?" The whole group asked at the same time. Even Kirara looked up with shock.

Yuki only smiled and looked back at the fire.

"Besides," Yuki added, still staring at the golden flames, "I'm sure Yasu can handle herself fairly well."

"You bet your tails I can," a familiar voice came from the trees.

"Yasu! Sesshomaru!" Kagome gasped in surprise.

"Now, why did you have ideas of Sesshomaru trying to hurt me?" Yasu asked, sitting down next to Yuki.

"Well, our past experiences have been... violent. And your attitude sometimes brings out the worst in people," Inuyasha began. Yasu sent him a death glare before putting the kettle on the fire.

"Well, in any case, we couldn't stop a hoard of monkey demons that like shiny things from taking the kettle," Yasu said. "When we got it back, most of the contents were spilled, so we went back to the river for more water. I barely managed to get _him_ to leave the monkeys alive."

Yasu pointed at Sesshomaru. The Taiyoukai had settled on a branch and was seemingly not paying attention. Yuki studied him for a moment before returning her gaze to the fire.

Yes, she knew. Nobody else did, though. It was her secret...

_**AN: I'm sure a lot of you people have figured out what's going on (you're so smaht!), but if you haven't, either figure it out or WAIT UNTIL I REVEAL! MUAHAHA!**_


	15. Tethena and the Hawkeye Blade

_**AN: I noticed that this story is more about Yasu and Sesshomaru than Yuki, Inuyasha, Kagome, and the crew. I'll try to fix that! :D**_

**_Chapter Fifteen_**

Yuki squinted. The sun was bright this morning! She sat up and looked around.

It was still early. Nobody was awake except for Sesshomaru, who was nowhere to be seen. Flicking her ears around, she heard his muffled footsteps headed east, and got up to follow.

Kagome woke up shortly after Yuki disappeared. She actually woke up to something warm. Looking behind her, she gasped and smacked the person hugging her in his sleep.

"Inuyasha, you pervert!" she screamed, waking everybody.

"It's a little early for your spats," Yasu grumbled, covering her eyes with her arm.

"I agree," Sango muttered, looking at the two with tired eyes.

"Hey! You were the one who fell asleep on me last night!" Inuyasha yelled. "Sesshomaru was in the tree, so I didn't exactly feel like getting up! Besides, you shivered every time I moved away from you!"

"You could have woken me up!" Kagome argued.

"And risk being sat? No way!"

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP AND LEAVE US TO SLEEP ALREADY?" Yasu yelled. The two stopped arguing and looked at the flaming sorceress. Her eyes were red before turning back into their usual steel grey. Sango and Miroku looked at her with awed respect.

"Where's Sesshomaru?" she asked as an afterthought. "I could use some silence. _Not that he stays speechless around me forever_..."

"Sesshomaru-sama?" Rin asked. Of course, the demon heard that and appeared with Yuki in a matter of seconds.

"Yes! My pain-killer!" Yasu cheered half-heartedly. The Taiyoukai gave her an irritated glance before tending to his ward.

"Inuyasha, OSUWARI!"

Mainly everyone (save Yasu and Sesshomaru's entertained looks) ignored the umpteenth "sit". Kagome stormed off. Inuyasha picked himself up out of the hole he made.

"Oi! Kagome! Wait up!"

Eight more sits were heard before Kagome was suddenly silent.

"What happened?" Shippo asked worriedly. Yasu shrugged.

"Perhaps Inuyasha... _killed her_!" Yasu snarled at the kitsune. Shippo gasped and ran in circles.

"Nooo! Kagome! Inuyasha, you baka! Waah!" he screamed.

Yasu plucked him up from off the ground and held him up.

"I was kidding. Inuyasha cares too much to kill her now," she told him.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha was actually hugging Kagome. Kagome, too stunned to speak, couldn't find her voice to land another subjugation spell on him.

"You baka, if I didn't care, I would've left you to shiver," he whispered.

Kagome felt a little relieved and more so sad when he let go and backed away.

...

They finally arrived to Totosei's, and entered the giant skull the swordsmith lived in. He was busy working on a small sword.

"Oi, old man!" Inuyasha yelled. Totosei turned and gaped at the large group that was suddenly crowding in the small space.

"Master Inuyasha, Lady Yuki, Lord Sesshomaru, I've been expecting you," he said.

"Huh? You've been expecting us?" Inuyasha asked.

"Didn't Miyoga tell you he'd be sending me the message?" the swordsmith asked.

"I didn't even know he was here," the hanyou grumbled.

"Well, he took some hairs from Yuki to make a base. It won't cut very well without a fang, however. Yuki, say 'aah',"

Yuki was about to open her mouth when Inuyasha kicked the old man's head.

"You do remember what happened when you used _my_ fang to repair Tetsusaiga?" he reminded the swordsmith. "Yuki would barely be able to lift the damn thing!"

"Well, then, what about yours? Or Sesshomaru's?"

Sesshomaru came up.

"I am her Guardian. My fang will be all you need," the demon said.

"Perfect! I'll need it when you're in your demon form, however."

Once Sesshomaru had transformed and Totosei had retrieved his fang (which displeased the Taiyoukai to have him in his mouth), everyone was shooed out while he finished the sword.

"This'll sting for a sec," Yasu muttered to Sesshomaru before poking the gum over where his fang should've been with a knife. Sesshomaru, startled, jumped away from her.

"Cease that!" he demanded.

"Do you want your fang to regrow faster or not?" Yasu demanded, putting her hands on her fists. Sesshomaru sat back down.

Satisfied, Yasu took out her glass and poured some into her sake cup, and added the crushed bark of the Goshinboku (she took some before they left Kaede's village). She took her knife and cut the area again (it healed when he jumped away), and then took her finger, dipped it in the potion, and dabbed it on the cut. Almost immediately, the fang regrew.

"Unfortunately, I can't do the same for your left arm," Yasu sighed, tugging on the empty sleeve. Sesshomaru pretended to ignore her.

While the two were having a silent conversation, Yuki, Kagome, and Inuyasha were all talking about Yuki's sword.

"I wonder what attacks they'll have, and how much damage it could make," Inuyasha mused.

"I hope not more than a little girl can handle!" Kagome said, glaring at the daydreaming hanyou.

"I hope it won't do too much damage," Yuki said hopefully.

"Feh."

"It's done!" Totosei declared, holding up a sheathed sword. The group stood up and looked at it. Yuki took it hesitantly.

"A sword that will kill only when it's true master wants it to. Safe, but effective," Totosei explained. "I call it Tethena." (_**AN: Bear with me, I have no clue what to name it in Japanese.**_)

Yuki unsheathed the fang and gaped at it.

The blade itself looked sharp, but when Totosei ran his finger against the sharp edge, it drew no blood.

"It's perfect," Yuki looked up and smiled. She placed it back in its sheath and tucked it in her belt the same way Inuyasha does with Tetsusaiga. "Thank you."

"Well, you need to try it out, first! How about a sparring lesson?" Totosei offered.

"With who? Everyone's too big! It won't be an even match!" Kagome scolded the old man.

"I'd fight her with _my_ sword. It's only steel. But..." Yasu took out the dented and warped weapon and threw it on the ground.

"You can't fight with a human sword!" Totosei screamed. He pulled on the silver highlights in Yasu's hair and walked off with a few strands. "I'll be back for feathers!"

Yasu stared. Inuyasha smirked and patted her shoulder before facing his sister.

"I'll fight you. The enemy never picks an even fight," he said. "I'll go easy on you."

"In case you forgot," Yasu said. "The sword _kills_ only when its master wills it. She'd have to kill you to make it work. I can help her better than you _without_ risking my life."

Inuyasha backed away while Yasu threw five rocks into the sparring circle. The rocks grew and changed shape, molding into one gigantic ogre. Yuki looked determined.

"Young... FLESH! I haven't had such a scrumptious meal in centuries!" the ogre growled. He lunged for Yuki.

"Eep!" Yuki froze the arm that was reaching for her and lept to the side. She slashed at the same frozen arm, cutting it off completely.

The ogre howled in pain. Pebbles, like blood, poured out of the wound.

Yuki continued the technique, slashing at the rock ogre continuously. Eventually, the creature collapsed, turning into a pile of small pebbles.

The group applauded her, but Yuki lifted and eyebrow and stuck the Tethena in the ground, leaning on it like Inuyasha does with Tetsusaiga.

"Feathers!" Totosei yelled, returning and flucking two feathers from Yasu's wings. The girl gasped and jumped away, bumping into Miroku.

"My hand is cursed," he said lamely after he received his second-ever punch from an angry hanyou.

"If you want to know what a _real_ cursed hand looks like, by all means, try again," Yasu warned.

"That was too easy," Yuki said. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at _her_ and chuckled. He took out the Tetsusaiga.

"Let's just spar," he offered. Yuki grinned and took a battle stance.

"Loser builds camp for the rest of the week," Yuki bet.

"Deal." Inuyasha raised his sword and charged head on.

"_Never thinks_," Yuki muttered to herself. She froze the ground and Inuyasha slid past her, yelling as he did so.

"I wish you wouldn't do that," he yelled when the ground unfroze. Kagome, Shippo, Sango, and Miroku were in stitches.

"I'm tired, loser, build a campfire," Yuki yawned, leaning against Kagome to "prove" her claim. Inuyasha muttered something about a "spoiled princess" before doing as he was told.

"It's ready!" Totosei exclaimed, poking his head out and holding out an impressively designed sword. Yasu took it and examined the blade and hilt. A small feather swung like a charm around it.

"Okay, old man, does it do anything special?" Yasu asked.

"It can handle any attack you use with it, and will increase your power in battle. You cannot lose it because it is connected to your aura. Seconds after you drop it, it will reappear in its sheath. I call it the 'Hawkeye Blade'."

Yasu took a few test swings. The blade was so light, and yet it felt sturdy in her hand. She was sure it could cut through the hardest rock like it was nothing but air.

"Thank you," she whispered to the swordsmith.

"Now, I suggest you get out of here, another demon will be around to pick up his sword and he'd be most displeased that I treat you differently."

The group agreed and headed out. Yasu was very proud of her new sword and cut a rock swiftly in half as soon as they were out of Totosei's territory.

"Lucky, Kagome 'sat' me when I practiced," Inuyasha complained.

"I could hardly call that practice and more of giving off a sign saying, 'Naraku! I'm here, attack me and my friends!'" Kagome retorted.

Yuki and Yasu later sparred before Inuyasha called them back to camp.

_**AN: Yes, I know this is really dorky and really doesn't do much. It's like a filler episode for the anime (oh, how I hate those...). To **_**sangoscourage**_**, I could use some more ideas from your brilliant idea box!**_


	16. Cruel

_**Chapter 16**_

Early that morning, Inuyasha had woken up the group telling them that there was a demon headed straight for them. Yasu was immediately by his side, followed by Sesshomaru. Everyone else woke up at their own paces.

As it turned out, it was a dragon demon that sensed jewel shards. Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga couldn't handle it alone, and it was up to the Hiraikotsu, sacred arrows, Kazaana, Tokijin, Tethena, and Hawkeye Blade to defeat it. Actually, Yasu landed the final blow, slashing a hole (and accidentally flying through it) where the demon's heart should have been.

Only Yasu saw the spider scar on the back of the demon's neck, but she didn't understand it and shrugged it off. Nobody noticed the lone Saimyosho sitting in the tree.

...

That night, Yasu decided it was time for a bath. Her silver strands, everyone noted, had become grotesquely red from the demon's blood.

"Don't you dare peek," Yasu warned Miroku as she got up to leave. "And in case you make an attempt, I'll place a spell on you so that all you see is white."

Miroku gasped when his vision left him. Sango kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

"Well, we know she's serious," Inuyasha murmured to Kagome. Kagome and Yuki grinned.

Sesshomaru had a slight smile on his face as he watched the blind monk try unsuccessfully to reach Sango, his eyes for the moment. Somehow, the demon felt pride in what Yasu could do.

_Perhaps... As a mate..._ Sesshomaru shook off the thought. Yasu was a hanyou. His bloodline would not be tainted by human blood.

"That witch can be quite dangerous in a battle," Jaken noted. Everyone, even Sesshomaru, nodded.

...

"Ah, it feels good to get youkai blood out of one's hair," Yasu sighed, running her fingers through the damp strands.

Yasu had stolen a bottle of shampoo from Kagome and was in the process of making sure every lonesome strand of hair smelled exuberantly of rose petals. The water was soon concealed behind a thick layer of suds.

Yasu hummed a little tune while she bathed, unaware of another presence.

...

"Inuyasha, Yasu has been gone for a while," Kagome whispered. In reality, she was voicing the concerns of everyone around her.

Sesshomaru, Shippo, Kirara, and Harumi were really antsy. They felt an aura coming from the direction Yasu headed, and it wasn't friendly. Even Yuki and Inuyasha noticed, but couldn't tell what it was.

"I can... I can see again?" Miroku asked. Sango waved a hand over his eyes and sure enough, he blinked.

"What?" Inuyasha growled. This didn't bode well... Everyone's hair prickled from their necks.

But things got interesting when the aura was headed in their direction, and seemed to change into Yasu's. Sesshomaru stood up to greet her when she was close.

"She's carrying a jewel shard," Kagome said, standing up as well. "A big one. But it doesn't make sense..."

Kagome took her bow and arrows and joined Sesshomaru. Of course, Inuyasha just _had_ to follow, and the entire group decided to get up.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" a familiar voice yelled. The group stiffened when she arrived.

Yasu's arm was cut slightly. In her palm, Kagome sensed, was the jewel.

"Bird, what happened?" Sesshomaru demanded.

"I ran into a demon that happened to be carrying this. Don't worry, it suffered more than I have."

The Inu brothers smelled an emotion that was familiar to them in a twisted way. Gloating happiness.

Kagome saw something off, and in the next second her bow was ready and aimed at Yasu's heart.

"You're not Yasu," she accused. "Yasu's eyes are steel."

Everyone immediately looked at the sorceress' eyes. Sure enough, they were dark crimson, like blood. Just like Naraku's...

The imposter sneered a smile that informed everyone that _she_ was actually a _he_. Naraku.

"I didn't think you'd catch on so quickly," Naraku laughed. Before anyone could attack, he was gone.

"It doesn't matter, anyways. Your strongest ally would be dead by the time you reached her," Naraku's voice floated from somewhere above them.

"No," someone gasped. Everyone was too much in a state of shock to actually pinpoint whose voice it was. Then they broke into a dead sprint.

Naraku had managed to cover Yasu's scent, making it hard to locate her.

"Kirara!" Sango yelled, jumping onto the transformed cat's back and lifting into the air.

Sesshomaru did the same, lifting himself into the air, searching...

Inuyasha and Yuki were bounding from treetop to treetop, getting as best of an aerial view as they could. Yuki eventually gave up on treetops and tried her hand at gliding. It pleased her to know that death didn't take the skill from her.

It was Harumi's high pitched wail that alerted everyone that Yasu had been found.

"No! Yasu! NO!" the kitsune shrieked, clinging to Yasu's arm like it was her only hope of retaining her sanity. Actually, it was.

Sesshomaru fell to his knees. His friend... His dear friend.

Kagome gasped and buried her face in Inuyasha's haori. The hanyou placed a hand on her head and hugged her close, taking in the scene before them all.

Yasu lay on the grass, her heart pierced, dead. From the wound there flowed a miasma, so thick they knew there was no hope in hell she would still be alive. Her eyes were open in a state of shock, and yet they were gazing into the nothingness, as if searching for something they could not see.

Only one person had the strength to turn away. He disappeared from view, and five minutes later, an unearthly howl pierced the silence.

_**AN: I had to! I'm sorry! I know you loved her! WAAH!**_


	17. Return to Me

**_Chapter Seventeen_**

"It… it can't be…" Yuki whispered. She couldn't believe her eyes. Yasu couldn't be dead. It didn't make sense! Unless…

Sesshomaru and Yasu were bound together, Yuki thought to herself. What if Naraku saw this and decided he could strike a permanent blow to Sesshomaru's soul, as well as erasing one of their most valuable fighters? The Saimyosho were Naraku's, what if they sent him a message before her brothers and the group destroyed them?

The miasma continued to pool around Yasu's body instead of blood.

"It ate away at her life blood," Miroku said in an astonished gasp. "Yasu might have survived the blow, and suffered from the evil inside her instead."

"It was better her than anybody else," Inuyasha said coldly. Kagome looked sharply at him. "Yasu seemed to have formed a protective bond over any of us. Remember, she can only resurrect someone that has no relation to her whatsoever. If one of us died, she would grieve over us because she couldn't bring us back, as we are her friends. So, it was better her than us."

There was a feral growl from behind them. Inuyasha whirled around, placing Kagome behind him automatically.

"How dare you say such a thing!" Sesshomaru snarled. His eyes were red, and the snarl that came from his throat made him seemed even wilder.

A streak of green light flicked toward the hanyou.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed when Inuyasha did nothing to stop it. A small line of blood appeared on his cheek.

"Yasu would have preferred it to be her than anyone else, especially _you_, Sesshomaru!" he yelled. The Taiyoukai paused. "Don't you think I haven't noticed how close you two were? Yasu went out of her way to help you when you needed it, and in turn you never seem to leave her alone! If you died, Yasu wouldn't be herself anymore! If any of us died, she would grieve!"

Kagome gasped, causing everyone to look at her. She pointed at the miasma near her feet.

There was a tinge of green at the edges, which was slowly eating away at the miasma and turning it into red blood.

"The poison from Sesshomaru's whip is reversing the effects of the miasma," Miroku explained.

"You mean-" the demon lord placed a hand on Tenseiga.

The monk nodded.

"Only you can save her, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha said. Kagome nodded beside him.

"I'm sure my arrows would purify the demon blood in her as well as the miasma," Kagome mused.

The demon took out the Tenseiga. He felt a familiar pulse, and soon the messengers of death were in his sight.

"Bring my bird back to me," he whispered, too low for the other demons and hanyou to hear.

Sesshomaru slashed at the imps mercilessly, cutting them to pieces.

Yasu took in a gasping breath. Sesshomaru knelt beside her at once and cupped her cheek.

"You have to get your poison directly into the bloodstream," Miroku told him. "Melting away her skin won't get you anywhere."

Sesshomaru growled before he plunged his head down and sank his teeth into Yasu's throat. Kagome yelped and turned her face into Inuyasha's side again. Yuki only watched in surprise.

_Sesshomaru might not notice this, but what he's doing will-_

The thought was cut off by a scream of agony. Sesshomaru pulled his fangs away from her jugular and pressed his mouth against hers, surprising the others and suppressing the scream. His hand gripped her arm and sank its claws into her flesh. His knees held her other arm at her side. Yasu screamed louder against Sesshomaru's mouth and tried to thrash around.

Yasu herself was confused and in agonizing pain. It felt like her bloodstream was being filled with acid! She tried to move, but her arms were caught in an iron grip. She tried to scream for help, namely Sesshomaru, but her lips were being crushed by something. She couldn't let out a decent scream loud enough to alert her friends.

She tried desperately to open her eyes and see what was attacking her. After a few seconds, she realized with horror that her eyes _were_ open.

_What happened to me?_ She wondered to herself.

It hit her immediately afterward. Naraku appeared to her in Sesshomaru's form. She had let down her guard long enough for him to get close to her. As soon as she sensed the evil lurking behind her friend's face, it was too late, and Naraku had impaled her, injecting the miasma into her heart.

Yasu, thinking it was Naraku holding her down, stored up her energy for a single blast that could kill a mortal instantly, and, in Naraku's case, destroy vile hanyous.

_You will pay for what you did to my life, Naraku,_ she thought to herself. _Even if this blow kills me, as well!_

Sesshomaru had felt the sudden rush of energy and pulled his mouth away from Yasu's.

"Yasu," he said. The sorceress flared even more. Naraku had the nerve to keep her friend's form! Sesshomaru began to notice what she was thinking and removed himself from her. He stood up and stared at the writhing body on the floor.

"Monster!" the sorceress screeched.

"Sorceress, this Sesshomaru is no monster."

Yasu's blind eyes whirled around, looking for the source of the voice. She reached for him.

"Sess… Sesshomaru-sama," she whispered. "Help me."

Sesshomaru sensed the energy starting to melt away. He knelt by her side again and closed her eyes.

"Sleep, the pain will be over soon. I'll be there when you wake."

Yasu let out a sigh of relief and clutched at his armor- it was all she had the energy to reach for at this point. Sesshomaru looked to the others.

Most had tears in their eyes. Yuki looked happy, although a little nervous over something. Inuyasha only stared.

"Now what? We have to wait for her to recover," he asked lamely.

"This Sesshomaru will take her to the Western lands. You may follow, or go on your own way."

"No, we're not leaving Yasu behind, especially not with _you_," Inuyasha growled.

"Inuyasha," Kagome hissed. "I think by this point we can trust the Sesshomaru won't hurt her!"

"In any case, we might as well follow to make sure Yasu recovers all right," Miroku sighed, kneeling down in front of Sesshomaru to take the girl in his arms. The look on Sesshomaru's face warned him otherwise.

_Of course he's suddenly become protective of her,_ Yuki grumbled in her thoughts. _Well, more protective of her than before. What he did more or less marked her…_

**_AN: Boo! Yes, this doesn't bode well… What, you guys thought I'd kill her permanently? Think again! Mwahahahaha! And yes, we'll get to read a chapter all about Yasu waking up in a manor far in the west. With a personal servant waiting on her, Sesshomaru's more or less confusing signals… oh, and a little surprise! Keep updated, and be sure to press that button below… Come on, you know you want to…_**


	18. A Form

**_Chapter Eighteen_**

_It's dark. Help me..._

_Who...? Whose name do I want to speak? My father's? That is a dead name, a cursed one. My mother's? No, she could not help. No, it is a name I yearn for. But WHO?_

_Silver and gold... Poison... Poison that flows through the veins and heart of a man that is neither human nor god. A demon..._

_"Sesshomaru," I whispered into the cold nothingness._

_There was a magic I could not sense, and the sense of dread and fear was gone. A light appeared before me in the shape of a man, bringing me warmth and comfort. He took my hand and then..._

_He embraced me..._

...

The group arrived to a long, tall wall. Yuki gaped at it. Did her family raise the walls after she died?

Inuyasha hardly noticed his sister pause and continued. Nobody even saw Yuki stop to look gleefully at a certain brick that was in the wall.

"I remember this," Yuki whispered, running her hands along the lettering on the small brick. Written on it was the lettering that made up her name and Inuyasha's. The two of them were only three, and had just learned to write their names. The wall was still being built to protect the two of them, and Inuyasha had given Yuki a stick, telling her to choose a brick. They found one that was still wet and wrote their names on it. A demon that was helping build the wall caught them and reprimanded them before their father found them and ordered for the brick to be added to the wall. Yuki and Inuyasha felt ashamed, but pleased.

It took a minute for Yuki to realize her group had gone ahead. She raced to the gate.

"Oi, look at this!" a dragon demon laughed, pointing at the young hanyou when she asked to get through.

"Why would we let a little piece of dirt like you in?" the guard's partner laughed.

"Let me in, please, my friends are in there!" Yuki demanded.

"Oh, your wittle friends can wait!" The dragon demon picked Yuki up by her hair and threw her away. She landed painfully a few yards away.

"Go home, flea-bag!" The partner yelled.

Yuki gritted her teeth and reached for her pendant. Her hands clasped nothing. Yuki panicked before her mind came up with a reasonable explanation.

_Oh, right, it's tradition to place the deceased's amulet in a place of honor somewhere in the manor. I've died, so the amulet is somewhere inside! I can't prove who I am without it!_

Yuki got up and took out her sword. The guards started to roar with laughter.

"You think you can hurt us with that little knife?" The dragon chortled. "You can barely give me a paper cut!"

Yuki saw a glow in his armor and slashed at it, managing to take out his armor. She saw another glow beneath his scales and was about to hit that, too, when the guard's partner roughly threw her away. The Tethena landed nineteen feet away from her.

"You little minx! She broke my expensive armor!" the dragon roared. "I bet her hair would fetch a hefty price with the oni. Let's kill her!"

Yuki felt a familiar sense of power. In her second of desperation, she didn't think about it and just grasped it. Her mind snapped and she felt herself losing control of her body...

Rin was playing in the garden when she sensed something off. She looked around to ask her new best friend if she sensed anything.

"Yuki-kun-" Rin paused, looking all around. She got up and headed for the gate.

The guards were startled. In an instant, the girl was no longer a filthy hanyou brat. Her body was aglow. Her eyes were red like fire.

Rin gasped and turned from the gate. She ran to the manor's door, screaming.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" She screamed. "SESSHOMARU-SAMA!"

Everyone raced to see what ailed the girl and found her running back to the gate. They followed immediately.

"Where's Yuki?" Sesshomaru demanded of Inuyasha. Inuyasha's eyes widened.

"Oh, no," he gasped. The two of them raced faster, passing Rin and leaping over the gate.

Yuki was hunched over, panting. She had blood on her claws and fangs. Blood was all over the ground and there were two masses of what once were the palace guards.

"Yuki?" Inuyasha wondered. He thought at first he was staring at himself when he was in demon form. The demon girl turned her head to glare at her brothers. The gates swung open.

"Oh my god," Kagome breathed.

Everyone was in a state of shock. Not because Yuki had transformed into a demon- they've seen it happen to Inuyasha before- but because the girl standing before them wasn't a seven-year-old girl anymore. It was a sixteen-year old youkai that was glaring at them all.

Inuyasha did something he would've considered stupid. He raced to his sister and pulled her into an enormous hug. His twin paused, then thrashed around.

"Wake up, Yuki!" Inuyasha yelled. "Wake up before you hurt somebody!"

Sesshomaru helped restrain the girl. Then Miroku and Sango helped keep her down. Kagome held back a shocked Rin.

"Wake up, sister," Sesshomaru commanded. Yuki's eyes started to turn orange. Inuyasha hugged her tighter.

"Yuki, it's over, there's no more danger, calm down," he whispered. "Miroku, get me the Tethena!"

Miroku let go and ran for the sword. He lifted it and threw it. Inuyasha caught it and pressed the hilt into Yuki's palm.

"Defend yourself with this," Inuyasha told her. Yuki's eyes turned golden, and the dark stripes on her cheeks faded.

"Inuyasha?" she whispered before fainting.

...

Yasu woke up gasping for breath. The room was brightly lit with scented candles.

"Where am I?" Yasu breathed. She looked to her side, at the hand the man touched in her dream. It felt so real... Her hand had felt so warm...

The appendage was cold and empty. Yasu got to her feet and opened the screen door to the room she was in.

"Sesshomaru?" she asked desperately. She heard a voice whisper from a hallway and raced to find the owner. "Sesshomaru-sama..."

She passed by many servants that seemed to look shocked as she passed them by. She followed the voice to a door...

"Sesshomaru!"

Yasu paused right there. She had bumped right into the subject of her distress. Looking up, Sesshomaru's eyes showed the same sense of surprise.

"You have awaken," he said simply. Yasu stared dumbly before realizing what happened and backing up. She bowed quickly.

"Gomenasai, Sesshomaru-sama!" she said hurriedly. "I didn't mean to... I'm so stupid... Um, sorry!"

Yasu ran off before Sesshomaru could utter another word.

"What was that about?" Jaken asked, appearing beside Sesshomaru.

"Jaken, make sure she finds her way to her friends," Sesshomaru ordered. "She is very confused."

...

"What is going on up there?" Inuyasha asked, his ears flicking about listening to the thumping of footsteps. The thumping stopped.

"Perhaps a servant was racing to get something?" Kagome suggested, sipping some tea. Shippo nodded from Kagome's lap, munching on "ninja food".

The thumping started again.

"I'm going to go check it out," Inuyasha stood, setting the Tetsusaiga in his belt and heading for the door.

"I'll go with you," Kagome offered, standing up and following him out.

"Please, Miss, stop! Wait for me!" a familiar croaky voice yelped. The thudding came closer. Inuyasha started to growl and placed himself in front of Kagome, keeping his hand on the Tetsusaiga.

"Get away from me, toad!" another familiar voice yelled. There was a smack and a yelp as Jaken skidded into view, hitting the wall. Yasu turned the corner and smacked right into Inuyasha.

"Ow! Watch it... Inuyasha?"

"Get off of me, you idiot!" Inuyasha yelled, pushing Yasu off and getting up himself. He wasn't going to admit how relieved he was to see her so energetic after she just woke up. Kagome was, however.

"Yasu, oh my gosh, I thought I'd never see you again!" Kagome screamed, hugging her friend tightly. "Don't ever go into the woods alone again! Swear on it!"

"I swear, I swear," Yasu said defensively. "Jeez, you'd think I was a big deal or something..."

"Baka! You _are_ a big deal!" Inuyasha yelled at her.

"I'm sorry," Yasu grinned, prying herself away from Kagome to hug Inuyasha, too.

"Eh?" Jaken wondered. Why was Yasu hugging Inuyasha? Sesshomaru was going to make his appearance any time now. After he just got his companion back, he won't be happy to see such a sight.

"Um, my lady," a voice echoed from the corner. Yasu turned around.

A young inu demon with red hair bowed to her quickly before rising.

"Yes?" Yasu asked.

"I will be your servant for your stay here," the servant told her quietly.

"Your name?"

"Kondo Takao, m'lady," Takao answered quickly.

"Takao... Are you as respectable as your name suggests?" Yasu questioned.

Takao grinned.

"I try my best, Yasu-sama."

"Well, I don't require service right now. Why don't you help my friends here?"

The boy inu bowed and followed Inuyasha and Kagome into the room.

"Your scent is different," a voice startled Yasu. The sorceress jumped and whirled around.

Sesshomaru was a foot away from her. With her knees bent in surprise, it seemed as though Sesshomaru was towering over her. The girl straightened up.

"Don't scare me like that!" Yasu fumed. "I believed you to be a perverted servant or Naraku..."

She stopped right there. At the mention of the name, she saw a flash of red in her companion's eyes.

Sesshomaru gripped her shoulders. His fangs were bared.

"How could you let that foul creature get anywhere close to you?" Sesshomaru growled at her.

"He took the form of _you_, okay? You're the closest friend I have! I let down my guard for a second before I realized it wasn't you, and by that time I was dead!"

Sesshomaru was shocked, of course. He abruptly let go of Yasu's shoulders.

"Sesshomaru-sama, what's wrong?" Jaken asked.

"You should not let your guard down for an instant, even for me," Sesshomaru told her. Yasu gritted her teeth before nodding stiffly.

"And you I," Yasu told him before turning and entering the room with her friends. Sesshomaru just stood there.

_**AN: Okay, Yuki is still unconscious in a room somewhere. And Yasu will be quite pissed in the next chapter. Why? I'm not telling!**_


	19. Reality

**_Chapter Nine_****_teen_**

Yuki was still asleep. Occasionally, Inuyasha would come into her room and hold her hand before leaving to be with his friends. Rin was almost always in the room with her. Sesshomaru was around quite a few times. Even Yasu came around to visit the sleeping princess.

"I've got it!" Yasu suddenly shouted after a week. It startled everyone, including Sesshomaru. Lately, Yasu has been quicker and quieter. Not even the Taiyoukai could sense her when she walked by.

"What is it?" Miroku asked.

"Takao, please go into my room and bring me my leather pouch," Yasu instructed her servant. The red head nodded and ran out of the room.

"Yasu, what is it?" Kagome echoed Miroku.

"There is a reviving potion, an old remedy," Yasu answered excitedly. "Sorceresses have used it to revive someone from unconsciousness. If someone hits their head on a rock, a sip of the liquid will revive them as if they hadn't been hit!"

Inuyasha perked up.

"You think it will revive my sister," he guessed.

"I am positive it will. I just need my Glass and a few remedial herbs..."

Takao returned with her pouch. Yasu reached into it and pulled out an old, worn book. Then she took out her Glass.

Flipping to a page, she read the herbs and looked to Rin.

"Rin, could you go into the garden and pluck an herb that looks like this?" Yasu turned the book for Rin to see the picture. Rin smiled and ran outside. Sesshomaru leaned in (accidentally brushing Yasu's shoulder) to look at the page. Yasu jumped, startled, and scooted away. She handed him the book, though.

"Yasu-sama, Rin has found the herb!" Rin rushed back in with three branches of the sweet-smelling leaves. It nearly made Inuyasha and Sesshomaru faint from the strength of the scent. Shippo already felt light-headed. Yasu, Kirara, Harumi, and Takao covered their noses. The sorceress took them and uncovered her nose, using a scarf to tie around her lower half of the face.

Yasu took an old, golden knife from her pouch and sheared fifteen leaves from the branches. As she placed it in the sake cup (already filled with the liquid), the potion turned a smooth mint green. Then, Yasu took out of her pouch a little red berry. She squeezed the juice out over the cup. The liquid turned pale blue.

"Takao, will you light that candle?" Yasu asked. Takao nodded and, with one hand, he lit the small candle.

Yasu placed the cup over the flame. Inuyasha fainted from the scent. Sesshomaru wasn't too far behind. Yasu uncovered her nose and took a small sniff.

Yasu placed the cup to Sesshomaru's lips.

"Drink," she told him. He took a sip and opened his eyes completely.

Yasu did the same to Inuyasha, with Kagome's assistance. The hanyou woke up sputtering insults for "that foul-tasting liquid". Kagome only smiled and patted his hand.

"We need to get Yuki to drink this," the sorceress told the brothers. "The longer we wait, the less potent the potion will be. I don't believe you want me to make the remedy again?"

Inuyasha stood.

"I hardly smell it anymore. I will give it to her," he offered.

Yasu handed the cup to him and sighed. She was secretly glad Inuyasha had taken the cup. The herb she had put in the potion drained her energy. If she used magic to heat it, it would have made her faint, as well. But she couldn't drink the liquid. If her lips touched the potion, it would not revive Yuki. Only family could drink from the same cup.

...

"Yuki, here," Inuyasha had Yuki's head propped up with one arm and the cup in his other hand. "Drink this, please."

Yuki's throat moved to show she was swallowing the drink. Inuyasha set the cup down as her eyes began to open.

"Inu...yasha? What- where am I?" she asked.

"We're home, Yuki. After so many years, we're home," her brother whispered. The two hugged each other tightly.

...

Yasu felt a burn on her forehead. She touched her hand to it.

"Excuse me," she said, getting up and taking her pouch with her to her room.

Harumi made a move to follow, but Yasu held her hand out, a signal to tell her to stay. Harumi nodded and took her seat next to Shippo again.

Yasu closed the paper door behind her and started to dig into her pouch. She managed to pull out a small, round object. A mirror.

"What?" Yasu questioned as she lifted her bangs to reveal a crescent mark. It encircled her sun-mark, a mark she had since birth.

"Yasu-sama, are you all right?" Takao called from behind the door.

"Yes, Takao, I'm fine. Do me a favor, however, and tell my friends I will be gone for a while. I must visit somebody."

...

The red-headed inu ran into the room with news.

"Lady Yasu has departed," he informed them, mainly Sesshomaru. The Taiyoukai stood.

"Where?" he demanded.

"She said she must visit an old friend," the servant informed him. "She told me nothing more!"

Kagome ran out of the room to find Inuyasha and Yuki.

"Inuyasha, Yuki, Yasu is gone!" Kagome told them breathlessly once she found them.

"What?" Yuki asked. The twins had been reminiscing in Yuki's room, looking at her paintings and old toys. Yuki even found one of Inuyasha's old toys stashed in her trunk.

"We have to find her, she's alone!"

Inuyasha stood up and reached into a box up on the highest windowsill. He took it down and opened it.

"Yuki, you will need this," he said, giving her her pendant. Yuki thanked him vigorously and put it on.

"What happened to yours?" Yuki asked on a passing thought.

"I never seemed very keen on wearing it." Inuyasha lied. Yuki glared at him.

"The truth," she growled.

"Okay, okay! I threw it into the river after you died! I was ashamed..."

Yuki's face melted into one of sadness. Kagome felt her heart sink, looking at Inuyasha's pitiful face. Then the hanyou male shook his head and pulled on his "clearly pissed" face.

"We still need to find that damn bird!" he growled. "I can't believe promises mean nothing to her!"

...

Yasu reached a concealed manor far into the trees. There was an abandoned cooking fire outside. The potion in it was left untouched.

"Oi! Akai! I know you're home!" Yasu yelled. A fiery red streak appeared in front of her.

"Oh, Yasu! I thought you were Masahiko," the girl giggled.

Akai was a sorceress, too. She had pure silver hair and strange green eyes. She was the same age as Yasu, and had trained with her with the same master for a short period of time.

"Is that man ever going to leave you be? I mean, shouldn't princes go for a princess?" Yasu asked angrily.

"Actually, he is a lord now. He tires of his wife and wants a concubine," Akai answered. That only made Yasu even angrier.

"He should realize by now you do not want him!"

"I do not care. I will leave it to him to learn when enough is enough. Besides, you came here for a reason besides lecture me about Lord Masahiko."

Yasu remembered why she was there and grinned.

"Right. Well, I felt a burning pain on my forehead and found this today. Can you tell me what it is?"

Yasu lifted her bangs to show Akai. Akai inspected it and started to smile.

"Congratulations! When do I get to meet your mate?"

"My WHAT?"

...

Sesshomaru paced back and forth. Everyone seemed to be watching. Everyone, except Yuki. She already knew what was going on.

They had reached a barrier that seemed only to let humans and sorceresses in. Harumi could make it through, as well as Kagome, Miroku, and Sango. It was where Yasu's scent disappeared, so they were all waiting outside.

"I swear, if that idiot winds up dead again I will resurrect her ass somehow and kill her myself!" Inuyasha yelled. Kagome shot a glance at Sesshomaru and glared at Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha, don't make us more worried than we already are!" she shushed him. She shot another scared glance at Sesshomaru, who seemed more on edge.

"I don't care! That witch is going to die a slow, painful death someday if she gets any more stupid!"

"Inuyasha, OSUWARI!"

The spell helped Inuyasha dodge the poison whip headed his way, but made him angrier.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he yelled at Kagome.

"I want to make sure your mouth doesn't get you killed!" Kagome answered.

"Both of you, stop it, now!" Yuki screeched, running to stand in between them. "Inuyasha, Sesshomaru's really anxious, and I'm sure he's pretty mad himself! Kagome, I admire the fact you want to help, but I'm afraid my brother only learns through pain. Sesshomaru, I'm sure Yasu's fine, you'd know it if she wasn't!"

...

"Oh, interesting," Akai said plainly when Yasu was finished with her tale. She got up from her seat and took Yasu's tea. "Well, in any case, you_ are_ Sesshomaru's mate, no matter what happened between you that day."

Yasu groaned and placed her hand on her face.

"But Sesshomaru is only a friend!" Yasu complained. "I'm not ready to mate with anybody! I still have to battle Naraku and teach Harumi-"

"Just because you are mates doesn't mean you two have mated," Akai laughed. "You just share a connection stronger than that of friendship."

"I don't want to be mates with Sesshomaru. I only ever had a friend, and that is all I want."

"Well... As long as you wear his mark, you are his mate."

"He won't accept me," Yasu said lamely.

"Why don't you see for yourself? He's waiting for you outside," Akai waved a hand at her hand mirror, which showed, instead of Yasu's reflection, all of her friends pacing or sitting on rocks just outside the barrier. Yasu spotted Sesshomaru standing inches from the barrier, trying to stare in.

"Can I run to you for help later?" Yasu asked.

"If I am wrong, and Sesshomaru does not want you, you may return, Yasu. You _are_ my best friend."

"Thank you."

Yasu waved as she jumped out of the window and took flight.

**_AN: Well, I was wrong. Yasu's not pissed yet..._**


	20. Comfort

**_Chapter Twenty_**

"That's it, I'm breaking this barrier!" Inuyasha snarled, unsheathing the Tetsusaiga.

"Inuyasha, don't act rashly, Yasu is in there!" Kagome yelled, trying unsuccessfully to pull Inuyasha's arm back.

Yasu made her way out of the barrier about a mile above her friends. She easily spotted Sesshomaru and sighed.

_Not today,_ she decided. Yasu used magic to conceal the mark.

"Everyone, what are you doing here?" Yasu asked when she landed behind the group. Inuyasha whirled around and ran straight at her, Tetsusaiga in hand. Yasu dodged his attack effortlessly and flitted next to Sesshomaru. The sudden close proximity sent her a calming feeling. Sesshomaru's eyes, once wild, calmed dramatically. Everyone sighed with relief. His aura had been all over the place moments before.

"We're here to make sure you didn't get yourself killed again!" Inuyasha yelled at her. "You broke your promise to us! Why couldn't you get one of us to follow you here?"

"There was a personal issue only another sorceress could help me with, Inuyasha. And do not worry, her knowledge has tided me over."

"The barrier was made my another sorceress?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Lady Akai is an old acquaintance, we studied sorcery with the same master. Of course, she was attacked by a demon early in her life, so she constructed a barrier so that no demon could cross. I am so happy you did not try to cross too hard. If you had, your mind would have been snapped, and you would find yourselves living in your own nightmares."

"What is it, may I ask, that you needed to know from Mistress Akai?" Yuki asked. As if she didn't already know. Magic could give the illusion of no change, but Yasu's aura was not concealed. Yuki could feel Sesshomaru's aura envelope her like a special binding.

"That is business only I should know, for now," Yasu answered. _This isn't a good time to let anyone, especially Sesshomaru, know_.

Yasu felt something like a hand touch hers. She looked down and saw Sesshomaru's hand brush hers.

Sesshomaru himself couldn't help it. He was still distressed from the thought of Yasu disappearing. When his hand touched hers, it was like an instant relief. Yasu, however, snatched her hand away.

_Maybe he already knows and won't tell me, hoping I'll just give in!_ Yasu snarled in her head. _In that case, I won't play fair!_

"Inuyasha, let us go to Kaede's," Yasu suggested. "I see that Kagome is inconvenienced at the moment, perhaps she could use a trip home."

Kagome gave her a thankful glance. Inuyasha just rolled his eyes.

"We've wasted enough time waiting for you to wake up, then Yuki, and the to find you again! Kagome can survive another week of exploring!" he scoffed.

"No, I can't!" Kagome snapped. "I haven't seen my mother, grandfather, or Souta for a whole month! Plus, we ran out of ninja food and I know I'm behind in school! Please, Inuyasha, I want to go home!"

"I have never seen my father before and my mother has been gone for as long as I can remember! Deal with it!"

Yasu started to growl. The growl grew louder and more fearsome. Inuyasha stood up straight and looked at the sorceress warily.

_SLAP_

"Yasu?" Kagome gasped.

Yasu had disappeared and reappeared in front of Inuyasha, just to slap him right across the cheek. Her eyes were red for only a moment, before returning to their normal steel. Inuyasha fell backwards into the dirt.

"You grew up with no family! All her life, Kagome had a loving family! She grew used to it! You cannot say that your life is the same as hers, because it is _so_ not!" Yasu shrieked.

"Yasu, calm down!" Miroku yelled, holding her back with his staff. Sesshomaru even rushed over to calm her, but it seemed to have to opposite effect.

"Get away from me!" Yasu snarled, smacking his hand away. She threw Miroku to the ground and catapulted into the air.

...

_Stupid inus. All of them are bakas. All of them!_ Yasu yelled in her mind. _I hate them. Especially Sesshomaru. I hate them!_

Yasu thought back to the hurt in Sesshomaru's eyes and her heart softened.

_No, I don't. I can't. I'm mad. I'm thinking irrationally, that's all. Sesshomaru is... well, he may not even know._

Yasu touched her forehead and returned quietly after three hours have passed.

Sesshomaru didn't make a sound when Yasu took her usual spot on his right. Jaken, however, was peeved.

"You dared to strike Lord Sesshomaru!" he yelled. "You should pay for your arrogance!"

"Jaken-sama, Rin doesn't think Sesshomaru-sama would make Yasu pay," Rin whispered. (_**AN: Remember, children are more observant than adults!**_)

"If he won't, I will! I don't care if she is a loyal friend to Sesshomaru-sama, she has been disrespectful!"

"Jaken, I'm getting really tired of hearing your voice," Yuki warned menacingly. "If Yasu isn't dead yet, I doubt Sesshomaru's going to do anything to her."

"He will not touch her because it is _my_ job to rid of the dirt that dares think they are above him!

Jaken got up with the Staff of Two Heads and was about to burn Yasu (not that it would actually do much for him) when the ground suddenly became slippery beneath his feet.

The servant yelped as he slid far off and into a set of bushes.

"Nice one," Inuyasha grinned, mussing up Yuki's hair (which by the way is still crudely cut). Rin got up to make sure Jaken was all right. The toad was heard yelling random insults at both the little human girl and at Yasu.

"I was growing really frustrated. Like I said before, Yasu would be dead if Sesshomaru willed it by now."

"Remember, tomorrow is a new moon, you two," Miroku warned the inus. "If we want Kagome to go home, we had better do it tomorrow morning."

Yasu sat up straight. A new moon? But she-!

"I already know, Miroku, no need to remind me of a weakness I don't even want to think about," Inuyasha grumbled. Yuki groaned.

"I hate new moons. I'm never energized," she complained.

"Why not?" Kagome asked.

"Yuki was born more demon then me," Inuyasha explained. "When her demon blood disappears, so does all her energy."

Yuki took out her pendant, which glowed brightly in the light of the campfire.

"This thing is the only thing that helped me survive those nights," she sighed. "Nobody would touch a Royal."

Yasu wasn't listening to any of this. She didn't even hear the part about Inuyasha and Yuki's demon side leaving them on that night. In her mind, she was calculating the best chance of escaping Sesshomaru that night.

_**AN: I know, I know, crappy chapter. But hey, if you guys are good, I'll bring around another character and add more hilarity, adventure, and DRAMA. Ooo, the drama. You like the drama!**_


	21. A Bond

**_Chapter Twenty-One_**

_In this chapter:_

_Yasu is at war with herself about telling Sesshomaru. Perhaps her thoughts might decide for herself!_

_Meanwhile, a demon comes looking for a fight with Inuyasha, but winds up clashing with Yuki instead! Perhaps they can come to a compromise?_

_Also... What is Yasu's big secret?_

"I have to tell him," Yasu whispered to herself. She had managed to get herself alone, away from Sesshomaru and everyone else, and was now sitting at the Goshinboku looking at the mark on her forehead in her mirror.

"No, I shouldn't. Sesshomaru will most likely reject me," her reflection argued. Yasu covered her forehead with her hand and sighed. She slumped, letting the mirror fall to the grass.

"I can't tell him. I'm not ready. _He's_ not ready. Maybe I should just find a way to break the bind, and then everything will go back to the way it was before."

Far off in the bushes, Rin was listening as a spy for Sesshomaru. She saw the mark, and instantly connected it with Sesshomaru. She ran back to her guardian and gave him a grin.

"Yasu is just thinking, Lord Sesshomaru. There is nothing to report," the girl lied. Sesshomaru bought it, however. Rin snuck back to the village and watched Kaede cook.

...

Meanwhile, Kagome and Inuyasha were finishing lunch in the future. Kagome's mother was ecstatic when she learned Inuyasha had a twin sister.

"Oh, wonderful, another girl to spoil," she laughed whole-heartedly. Inuyasha suddenly felt sorry that he even opened his mouth.

"Mom, Yuki isn't really that much of a material girl," Kagome said quickly. Inuyasha gave her a thankful look and turned to the TV.

Mrs. Higurashi looked at Inuyasha, who was engrossed in a commercial for some model of new car.

"They're twins, right?" she asked. Kagome looked at Inuyasha and started to laugh.

...

_I wonder if mother and father are watching me from the Other World,_ Yuki wondered to herself. She was sitting on a boulder not too far from the well, waiting for her brother to return. Her eyes followed the clouds as they drifed across the sky.

Yuki remembered the last time she saw her parents, as spirits, before they crossed to the Other World. They had told her they loved her. Yuki chose not to follow them, so that she could watch over her brothers. When Inuyasha met Kikyo, Yuki was unsure. The miko was so cold and mature for her age. She refused to relish in her youth like all the other girls. But she gave them her unofficial blessing, as long as her brother was happy. But then their love turned to turmoil, and she and her brother became pinned to a tree!

Kagome was more open, and assertive. She was, in quite a few ways, more like Inuyasha than Kikyo. Yuki liked her more. And unlike Kikyo, Kagome was youthful and powerful at the same time! Love did not weaken her, but made her stronger. Plus, her anger challenged Inuyasha's, and usually cooled him down faster.

...

Inuyasha's ears perked up. He sat up straight, flicking his ears back and forth. Kagome tore her eyes from the television to watch him. She never saw him _that_ anxious before.

"Inuyasha?"

"There's trouble. Yuki's in danger," Inuyasha growled, getting up and racing out the door. Kagome apologized to her mother and followed quickly.

...

The demon was watching the hanyou from a distance. His eyes scanned for another... somebody in particular. Upon realizing there was nobody but him, the demon stood.

_What did he do to his hair? And has he gotten skinnier?_ the demon thought.

"Oi, mutt!" Kouga yelled. The hanyou flinched and stood quickly, his back still facing Kouga.

"I have come to take my Kagome away! If you don't like it, feel free to fight! Not that I'll let you go easily," Kouga chuckled. The mutt placed his hand on his sword. Kouga took it as an incentive to fight and primed to charge.

Kouga sprinted with his fastest speed yet towards the red-clad body. The mutt turned and gasped.

Kouga felt the ground beneath him turn icy cold. He suddenly couldn't stop flying forward. He yelled as he collided with the mutt.

"Ow! Watch it you filthy-"

_SINCE WHEN WAS INUYASHA A GIRL?_

Yuki blinked. Then her face turned as red as her robes. Kouga was lying on top of her in a very... provacative position. The wolf demon was looking right at her chest with a face as red as a tomato.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SISTER?"

Yuki looked up. Her brother and Kagome were approaching them fast. Kouga looked up and jumped off of Yuki.

"I came to get my woman!" Kouga said defensively.

"SINCE WHEN HAS YUKI BEEN YOUR WOMAN?"

Kouga turned a thousand shades of red before rushing to Kagome's side.

"Like I would waste my time on damn mutts!" he growled. Kagome snatched her arm away.

"Yuki is unlike Inuyasha in many ways, Kouga. Think before you judge," she told him angrily. Kouga looked over at the hanyou maiden, who had already picked herself up off the ground and was walking away to Kaede's village. Her ears were flattened in sorrow.

Inuyasha sent Kouga a murderous glare and pulled Kagome along as they went to follow Yuki.

"W-wait!" Kouga yelled, running to catch up. Yuki started to sprint head-long away and into the forest. Kouga whizzed past Kagome and Inuyasha, chasing her. There was another yell and a crash.

"I think he should steer clear of girls with special powers all together, eh?" Inuyasha asked rhetorically to Kagome, who giggled.

...

Eventually, after hours of searching on Inuyasha and Kagome's part, they found Yuki hiding in the Goshinboku. She was staring off into space, dazed and incredibly frightened.

"Oi, Yuki, no good comes from hiding in a tree," Inuyasha said when he had leapt onto the same branch as her. Yuki, startled, froze his feet and hands where they were and relaxed soon after.

"Sorry, Inuyasha... Go back to the village... I need to speak with Kagome," she told him. Her twin jumped down and left, scratching his head. Once he was out of earshot, Yuki made her way down.

"Yuki?" Kagome asked, sitting next to the young female.

"Kagome, Kouga's..." Yuki seemed to be at a loss for words.

"What is it, Yuki? You may tell me," Kagome offered.

"Do you remember when I told you about the different types of bonds between demons?" Yuki asked. Kagome nodded. "Well... Actually, I should explain something else before I continue."

"Um... Okay?" Kagome answered.

"You have seen Sesshomaru and Yasu together, right?" Yuki asked. Kagome nodded again. "Well, it isn't really love at first sight. I mean, it is, but it... Argh!"

Yuki stood up and shook her head.

"Sesshomaru and Yasu are bound by a love's bond. Otherwise they would either gradually come to even like each other or ignore the other completely," Yuki blurted. "And when Kouga attacked me, our eyes met and-"

"You and Kouga share that bond?" Kagome guessed.

"How did you-?"

"Kouga rarely apologizes unless it's to someone he truly cares for. And he hardly knows Inuyasha let alone you," Kagome shrugged.

"But... Kouga loves you, Kagome," Yuki said.

"Ha! I helped Shippo escape when Kouga kidnapped us for my ability to see the jewel. He likes me because I was willing to risk my life for friends... and I had the guts to slap him," Kagome sweat-dropped.

As if on cue, our favorite wolf demon stumbled into the conversation. Yuki jumped back into the tree in surprise.

"Were you spying on us?" Yuki demanded in a cold tone. Kagome off-handedly wondered if Sesshomaru rubbed off on her a little bit.

Kouga began to sputter. Kagome saw his blush a furious red.

"Yes, he was," Kagome said angrily. "How much did you overhear, Kouga?"

"E-everything," Kouga admitted. "B-but I... I am willing to try!"

Yuki jumped down and crossed her arms into her sleeves.

"Try what?" she asked bitterly.

"Try... try for your heart. I know about the bonds and I know that they are unbreakable. Please, let me try."

Yuki hesitated. She couldn't believe that Kouga had overheard, let alone volunteer to try! Kouga rushed over and knelt in front of her, taking her hands.

"I heard stories as a whelp about you. We would have looked to be the same age then as we are now, even though by now you should be much older. The stories told of a girl with the looks and instincts of a female inu pup, but the heart of an angel. You forgave those that did you wrong. You always put others before yourself. I always dreamed of meeting you, even though I had no idea of what you looked like or where you were. I imagined, but never dreamt I would! And to discover we share a bond, I am almost dancing with joy. Please, please let me try for your love."

Kagome only ever heard or read about this kind of commitment. She and Inuyasha... He was hung up on Kikyo too much to really open up to her. Sango and Miroku... Miroku was never really committed to their betrothal. She could hardly learn from Sesshomaru and Yasu- their relationship went up and down!

Yuki nodded, and Kouga stood up to hug her. Kagome almost ruined the moment by "aww"ing.

_**AN: Aww is right, Kags! I just luv Kouga (not as much as Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, but third isn't bad, right?)!**_

_**On an offhand note, I wonder, given his attitude, what Sesshomaru would be like drunk. I'd love to hear what you all come up with.**_

_**Plus, on DeviantArt, **_**dontpokemepleez**_** has come up with some good artwork for this fanfiction! Check it out the next time she posts!**_


	22. Um, Surprise?

**_Chapter Twenty-Two_**

_In this chapter..._

_Kouga has now become an official part of the group. Of course, he's a long way away from receiving either Inu brother's blessing. He also learns the dark past that haunted Yuki since her childhood..._

_Yasu's planning on hiding herself tonight, but Sesshomaru won't leave her side! What the big deal?_

...

"Is fighting traditional in Inu families?" Kouga asked Inuyasha while they watched Yuki and Sesshomaru spar. Yuki was using different styles of fighting. Sesshomaru couldn't keep up with her as she ducked, dove, kicked, and slashed. Once, she did a high kick from low on the ground, catching her brother in the back and forcing him forward.

"Keh, we _are_ aggressive," Inuyasha admitted irritably, "but because Yuki was royalty, it was essential for her to learn self-defense. We gave her teachers from different species of youkai, including wolf."

Kouga recognized a move _he_ used a few times and nodded. Inuyasha continued to ignore him.

"Hah!" Yuki yelled, knocking Sesshomaru to the ground. She placed the Tethena at his throat. Tokijin was lying far behind Sesshomaru. "Submit!"

Sesshomaru pushed the Tethena away and stood, holding out his hand. Yuki took it and hugged him.

"You still can defeat me," her brother said.

"My turn!" Inuyasha yelled, getting up and taking out the Tetsusaiga.

Sesshomaru left the battlefield and sat next to Yasu. The sorceress enclosed him in the safety bubble she had formed around everyone else and took Inuyasha out. Her hands glowed as she clasped magic beads. The beads enabled Yuki to fight agressively without fatally wounding her brothers.

"Go Inuyasha!" Kagome cheered. Inuyasha felt his pride boost as he began to clash swords with Yuki. Of course, his pride crashed to the ground when Yuki made him slide around on a thin sheet of ice. Kouga watched with utter interest.

"She definitely won't let him down easy," Kouga acknowledged.

"In training, she learned not to let her guard down or let the enemy get anywhere near her, no matter who they were," Sesshomaru told him coldly. "It could be _you_ she is fighting, and she would not stop."

"Is it just me, or do they seem a bit unfriendly?" Kouga whispered to Yasu. Yasu looked at him for a second before returning her gaze to the twins.

"Kagome had to inform Inuyasha about you and Yuki," she said. "I, of course, informed Sesshomaru. Sorry."

Kouga stared at her for a second before getting up and stalking off. Yuki froze Inuyasha on his knees and pressed the sword to his throat.

"Okay, I'm finished," Yuki said, unfreezing Inuyasha and walking past the group to follow Kouga.

Kagome shot a look at Sesshomaru and Yasu. Sesshomaru seemed to glide around her like one of the satellites in her time. It was much like Yuki making sure she wasn't far from Kouga.

...

"Kouga!" she said when she finally found him. The wolf demon looked up and smiled grimly.

"Hey," he said. Yuki sat down next to him.

"What's wrong?"

Kouga looked over at her and laughed.

"Well, before now, my life was pretty awesome," Kouga began. He saw Yuki's ears droop and was instantly trying to reassure her. "No, I mean, nothing is horrible or anything... But at first, I imagined myself to be set for life. Kagome was going to be my woman, I was going to start a pack that was stronger than the one I had once. With my woman and best men and sons at my side, I was going to be the happiest and most powerful wolf demon in Japan. But now I can clearly see Kagome loves your mutt of a brother, and he doesn't approve of me being with you. I can hardly get near you without one of them growling at me."

Yuki giggled and stood up, taking his hands and pulling him with her.

"Come on, let me show you something," she said. "_Before_ my brothers realize I'm gone."

The two ended up having a little race. Kouga was impressed at her speed, which rivaled his jewel shards. Once they reached their destination, an old village, Yuki sighed and smiled wistfully. She was still holding Kouga's hand, so he squeezed it before asking, "Where are we?"

"Home."

Yuki went into the grounds and inspected the old huts. Kouga watched solemnly as she passed each door, smiling softly at the families spending time together. Of course, a few nosy humans were staring, but Yuki seemed oddly at ease. Kouga, however, wanted to get the hell out of there.

"Yuki, let's go," he hissed to her. Yuki looked up.

"Oh," she giggled to herself at the small crowd that gathered around them.

"Did that boy say... Yuki?" an old man asked. "Yuki of the demon clan?"

"It is her!"

"Back from the grave?"

Suddenly, all of the elderly were crowding around the girl. They touched her hair and ears. Kouga was beginning to think slinging her over his shoulder and running wasn't such a bad idea.

"Your hair... I remember my brother... He..." one of the elders said. "You _are_ her."

"Young miss... How is it that you have come back from death's hold after so long?" an old lady asked.

"Yuki, we need to go," Kouga said. "We've been gone too long. The least your brothers can do to me now is kill me. I don't want to think about what they'd do to me if we wait any longer."

"Oh, okay," Yuki said. Just before she left, however, a man held her back. "Ow!"

Kouga forced back a growl.

"I am so sorry, so sorry," the man repeated over and over again.

"Sorry for what?"

"I hurt you so many times... You took it in stride... So many times... Every day..."

"It was the past, old man. I hardly remember it," Yuki said, moving to join Kouga.

_Finally_, the demon thought, taking her hand.

"Yuki!" The old man yelled. The girl turned around. "They got what was coming to them; I am happy I did not take part in your murder."

"Murder!" Kouga exclaimed. Yuki pulled him away quickly.

...

They reached the village just before Inuyasha and Sesshomaru would notice they were missing. Yuki pulled Kouga over to the Goshinboku.

"Murder! What the hell was that old man talking about?" Kouga demanded.

"Kouga, calm down," Yuki said.

"I suppose, considering what that man said, your hair wasn't exactly your doing?"

"No, it wasn't, but listen to me!"

"He spoke of hurting you _every day_!"

Yuki mustered all of her power and snapped her hand forward, making a clean _smack_ against the wolf demon's cheek.

"Shut up and listen to me!" she screamed at him. Before he had a chance to recover, she began screaming again.

"I was bullied constantly every day, okay? That was my life, pure and simple! Humans didn't accept me, I was constantly _worshiped_ by demons, and on top of that, I'm a freak of nature with the ability to control ice! One day, I came home with my hair cut by those same boys with a dull knife! I was tossed around endlessly by those boys until I met my demise in the very river I once thought was my peace!"

Yuki broke down crying fell to her knees. Kouga joined her on the ground and took her shoulders.

"Yuki, listen to me, you are alive and cherished now, with friends and people who love you, don't cry," he begged. "Okay, the past was the past! Just don't think about it!"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO YUKI?"

_Here we go again_, Kouga thought as Inuyasha charged toward them.

...

"Seriously, I'm fine. I'll hunt in a little bit, I just feel ill," Yasu lied, getting up and brushing the dirt off of her yukata.

Sesshomaru stood up to follow. It was more of habit than impulse now.

"No, stay," Yasu told him sternly.

"You don't order Lord Sesshomaru around like you own him, stupid bird!" Jaken yelled. His lips froze over before melting. Yuki sighed and fell into Kouga.

"What's wrong with her?" Kouga demanded.

"That was stupid, Yuki, you know you need your energy," Inuyasha grumbled, lifting his sister and walking into the hut to put her to bed.

"It's the night of no moon," Kagome told Kouga. "You remember the last time you saw Inuyasha on a night like this."

"Oh yeah, he was a weak mortal then, huh? But what does that have to do with Yuki using her powers?" Kouga asked.

"Yuki is more demon then I," Inuyasha answered as he was coming out of the hut. "She uses up energy when she uses her powers. Tonight, she will be weaker than me, and now her energy is spent trying to get that toad to shut up."

"I really have to go," Yasu said, bolting into the trees.

Sesshomaru started to run after her, but then Yasu was back.

"Out of my way, kit," Sesshomaru growled at the doppledanger.

"Yasu doesn't want anyone near her right now, if you care, you'd leave her be," Harumi warned in Yasu's voice. Sesshomaru took a step back before rushing past the kitsune.

"Why is he always following Yasu?" Sango wondered. Kagome told them.

"Keh, as if Sesshomaru has a heart to begin with! I'm sure all that drives him is instinct!" Inuyasha snorted. Kagome sat him.

...

"I told you not to follow me!" a voice said from the trees. Sesshomaru looked up.

He saw Yasu's legs in the light, but the rest of her was cloaked in shadow. He couldn't even see her eyes.

"Bird, show yourself," Sesshomaru commanded.

"That name is a little wrong for the day," Yasu said. "It's ironic that Inuyasha and Yuki are weak tonight, because... well, look at me."

Yasu jumped out of the tree. Sesshomaru's eyes widened.

"Bird?"

Yasu's hair was pure silver. It shone in the moonlight like silk, and looked just as soft. Her eyes were as black as night. Her whole body was more curvy, filling out her yukata.

"I'm like this every new moon, okay?" Yasu snapped. "I lose my demonic power and I attract male attention. That's why I tried to stay away from you tonight, because you're always so close. You take one look at me and immediately you want me."

Sesshomaru didn't know what she was babbling about. He felt the same attraction to her. Nothing changed at all, really.

"You should have listened to me! Baka!" Yasu spat before turning to head back to camp. "I might as well make it known to everyone, since you know!"

Sesshomaru followed silently.

_He doesn't seem fazed,_ Yasu thought. _Perhaps there's nothing that could possibly attract him, since he's already my mate? Wait, _my_ mate? What the hell?_

Inuyasha looked up and started. He thought he saw a ghost!

Miroku stood up and took Yasu's hands.

"Fair maiden, will you please consider bearing my child?" he asked. His eyes were clouded over, as if he were in a daze.

Yasu's eyebrows twitched.

"I told you so," she said to Sesshomaru before punching Miroku in the face. "And leave me alone, Miroku, I'm not in the mood for your little antics."

"Y-Yasu?" Miroku gasped, snapping out of it. The sorceress glared menacingly at him before taking a seat next to Harumi.

"Thanks for trying, Rumi," Yasu said.

"Too bad it didn't work," Harumi sighed.

"Yasu, what's with you?" Inuyasha asked. Yasu sighed and retold her tale.

_**AN: Hello, everybody! Those of you living on the west coast tonight are in for a treat. Tonight is the lunar eclipse! Grab a partner and a camera and possibly some blankets because the moon will be absolutely brilliant before it's gone for an hour! (Too bad I can't see it because it's pouring buckets in my city).**_


	23. The Past is the Past

**_Chapter Twenty-Three_**

_In this chapter..._

_Sesshomaru accepted Yasu. Okay. Phew. But now it's morning, and the two of them are all of a sudden hostile! WHY?_

_Kagura is sent to attack the Inutachi. But why Kagura specifically?_

...

"Morning!" Yuki yelled, jumping and landing next to her brother.

"Nnn? Yuki!" Inuyasha growled, getting up and chasing her out of the hut.

"Those two surely are active this morning," Miroku noted cheerfully. Sango nodded, smiling.

"I suppose they're always like that," she said. "They just got their powers and energy back."

"Come to think of it, Yuki was already awake since dawn," Shippo supplied. "She was walking back into the village with Kouga when she saw us awake."

"I wonder what they were doing all morning?" Miroku asked. There was a sharp sting on the top of his head when the Hiraikotsu collided on his skull.

"It's nothing you are imagining, hentai," Sango seethed. "Yuki has flowers in her hair, if you haven't noticed. They were probably picking flowers."

"Yuki!" Kouga yelled. He grabbed her and slung her over the shoulder before Inuyasha could tackle her.

"No fair! You two teamed up!" Inuyasha complained.

"I'll team with you," Kagome said, jumping onto Inuyasha's back.

"That looks fun, I'll play, too!" Yasu yelled.

"You're powerful enough, don't team up with Sesshomaru!" Kagome warned.

"He's not here right now, anyway," Yasu grumbled before looking cheerful again. "Let's go!"

Everyone ended up in a big heap. They were laughing and enjoying themselves by the look of it. Inuyasha was peeved that he ended up on bottom while Kagome was on top. Actually, he was right underneath Kouga.

"Wow, I haven't been that active in years," Yasu sighed, rolling off the pile and accidentally rolling Kagome off, too. The miko started to laugh.

"Neither have we," Inuyasha teased, helping his sister up.

"Yes, how long has it been? Sixty years?" Yuki giggled. Yasu heard someone approach and raised an arm in an attack position.

"It is only Sesshomaru, bird," Sesshomaru's cold voice said from the trees. Yasu glared and stood up cooly.

"What's wrong with those two?" Kagome asked.

"They were fighting at dawn, when Yasu turned back to normal," Yuki answered. "I couldn't hear what it was about, though."

Sesshomaru left to check on Rin without sparing another glance at Yasu.

"Asshole," Yasu snarled under her breath. Sesshomaru paused for a small second before continuing onward.

"What was that about?" Inuyasha asked. He didn't like the hostility in the air and instinctively stepped in front of Kagome. Kouga did the same with Yuki.

"It's nothing," Yasu said quickly. "Mind your own business."

"Yasu, let me speak with you," Kagome said. The sorceress paused before nodding and letting the miko pull her toward the Goshinboku.

"What is it, Kagome, I'm tired," Yasu said smoothly.

"You two had a lovers' quarrel, didn't you?" Kagome asked bluntly. Yasu's face was priceless. Her eyes and mouth opened wide.

"What?" Yasu almost yelled. She quieted immediately. "You know?"

"Know what?" Kagome asked. Yasu touched her forehead and sighed. She lifted her bangs.

"I suppose it's no secret that Sesshomaru and I are... close," Yasu whispered, letting down the concealment spell. Kagome gasped at the crescent moon on Yasu's forehead. "This happened when he saved me from death."

"Your mark! It's Sesshomaru's!" Kagome said aloud. Yasu covered her mouth and the mark.

"Shh! He could hear you!" Yasu hissed.

"He doesn't know?" Kagome asked, pulling the hawk's hands away from her mouth.

"No. I plan on finding out how to end the bond before he does."

"Why is he upset, then?"

Yasu sighed and sat down.

"This is the second time I shared a serious conversation with you about my life," Yasu chuckled darkly. "Did you know that when a hanyou reaches a certain age they stop aging?"

Intrigued, Kagome sat next to Yasu.

"I am well over forty years of age, Kagome. Soon after I stopped aging, I left my village for a short while in search of a master who could teach me magic. That was how I met my friend Akai, whom I was with behind that barrier days ago. One night was the night of no moon, when I lose my demonic power and rely on my ogre's blood to protect me. The men were attracted to me, Kagome, and I had noplace safe to stay, so I accepted their request to stay. They drugged me and used me. But I called it survival. Sesshomaru learned of this and was instantly angered. He and I... don't see the same picture."

"So you two argued?"

"I managed to stop him from hunting those men down, but... I lost a little of his trust. He thinks I might allow myself to be used again, and he doesn't want to stay and watch me do it. I blame this whole thing entirely on this!" Yasu showed her mark again.

"Stop it, he really likes you, Yasu, and he cares for you, even if he doesn't know he's doing it! Besides, _would_ you let yourself be used again?"

"Of course not. I have friends who can help me find shelter and protect me as well as I can protect them. I'm not going to do what my past did."

"Then Sesshomaru has no reason to be angry with you. The past is the past, I know that for a fact," Kagome grinned.

"Kagome? You live in the future, don't you? Do you know what happens later on? Like what happens when we battle Naraku?"

"I don't know for sure. I'm always asleep in school, and I never bothered to lift a book about this era, for fear of what I might read. Especially since they're all 'fictional' novels about a half demon in particular."

"You mean Inuyasha is known even to the future?"

"Almost everyone knows his name now, haven't you noticed? They all see us as heroes for going to defeat Naraku!"

"Speak of the devil..." Yasu snarled, standing up and scanning the trees. "Kagome, stick close, and cover your ears."

"What?" Kagome questioned, but she did as she was told.

Yasu opened her mouth once, and a loud, ear-piercing shriek came out. It lasted only a second, but it was enough to capture the group's attentions and for them to arrive.

"Was that you?" Miroku asked of Yasu. Kagome uncovered her ears. They were ringing, but she guessed the shriek was loud enough to make her deaf if she didn't cover them.

"Yes. I smell Naraku, and trust me, I don't like the scent," Yasu snarled. Sesshomaru winced slightly before turning back into his normal, cold self.

"Tch," Inuyasha scoffed, taking out the Tetsusaiga. "He must be stupid! We have more power on our team than he does his whole weakling body!"

Kagome ran to stand behind him. Yasu lifted her hands. Her talons grew into fearsome sharp daggers. Everyone primed for a fight.

"Dance of the Dragon!" a familiar voice yelled. Tornadoes blew straight toward them.

"Wind? I am the master of wind!" Yasu yelled, leaping into them. A second later, the tornadoes dispersed, revealing a smirking Yasu. "That was simple."

"Well, get ready for child's play," Inuyasha told her. "Kagura is a wind sorceress and an incarnation of Naraku."

_A wind sorceress?_ Yasu thought. _No... Not possible!_

"How? That attack should have sent someone to their death!" Kagura gasped, making herself visible. She raised her fan, which, Kagome saw, was carrying a jewel shard.

"I guess you're not powerful enough," Inuyasha taunted, "with or without that shard! But thanks for giving it to us!"

Kagura glared at Inuyasha before turning to look at Yasu. The hawk glared back.

"I suppose you're the vermin that destroyed my attack. Prepare to die! Dance of the Dragon!"

_Dragon? No, no!_ Yasu yelled in her head as she dodged the attack. The next one caught her off guard, and someone pushed her out of the way.

"Watch it, bird," Sesshomaru told her icily, dropping her.

"Oh, Sesshomaru, how could you? I thought we were friends," Kagura pouted. Yasu's eyes narrowed for a tiny second.

"I suppose you two would like to catch up," Yasu said, picking herself up and taking flight. "Take this! _Binding blade!_"

Yasu's attack bound Kagura in streams of red and golden light. It bound her arms together, and when she struggled it sliced her skin. Kagura raised her fan and tapped it against the restraints, breaking them easily.

"Feh, that was a useless attack," Kagura yelled. She sent an attack back at Yasu.

"Yasu, attack her! Counterattack and end this!" Inuyasha yelled from below.

_I can't! Her power is-_

"AAH!" Yasu screamed in agony as the attack threw her into a tree. A branch broke and she slid down the point, ripping one of her wings.

Yasu cursed mentally as she stood. One of her wings wasn't functioning the way she needed it to. It drooped to the ground.

"Ah! Yasu's wing is torn!" Kagome yelled.

_I can't fly, damn it! _Yasu thought. She let her wings fold (wincing in pain as the wounded wing folded all wrong) and ran to the side.

"Running away, are we?" Kagura yelled.

"As if! _Hawkeye Blade!_" Yasu brought out the sword from its sheath, which was carefully hidden on her back and underneath her hair.

"Oh, so the little bird has a toy," Kagura taunted.

Yasu growled and charged. Kagura smirked. This hanyou was no better than Inuyasha! She threw an attack.

Just when the attack was about to hit Yasu, she disappeared. The attack collided with the ground and made an explosion of dirt. Kagura scanned the area.

"I believe this is mine!" Yasu yelled from behind, snatching away the fan and jumping down.

"You!" Kagura yelled. "It's a curse to steal a sorceress' weapon!"

"Then I'm sure you're already cursed! _Go!_"

Yasu swung the fan and four blue streaks of light appeared, headed not for Kagura, but for her youki. Kagura sensed this and flew off.

_That girl! The fan accepted her when it didn't me?_ Kagura thought.

"Peh, I'll be back to see you again, Sesshomaru," Kagura called out before flying off on her feather. Yasu growled before taking out the shard and collapsing the fan. She threw the shard to Kagome.

"ARGH!" Yasu yelled suddenly, dropping to her knees and reaching behind her for her wing. Kagome rushed over with her first aid kit.

"Yasu, let me see your wing!" she demanded. Inuyasha came over to help. He knew Yasu, in as much pain as she was in, was most likely going to throw some blind attacks if Kagome accidentally prodded her the wrong way. Rin ran over, too.

"Ah! Rin! Come back here this instant!" Jaken yelled, dragging her back. "Sesshomaru-sama would have my head if that wild bird hurt you!"

"But Yasu-sama is hurt!" Rin argued.

"Let the miko and Inuyasha help her! They're better off!" Jaken told her, pulling Rin back. Sango knelt down and held Rin.

"Don't worry, Kagome will take care of Yasu. Don't get yourself hurt if something should happen," she told the little girl.

It took an hour, but finally, Yasu's wing was bandaged. Then Kagome turned to bandage Inuyasha, who had recieved some pretty nasty slash marks.

"Sorry, Inuyasha," Yasu mumbled.

"It's no problem," he said. "Ow! Kagome!"

"Sorry, I have to clean the wound, first!"

"With what? Liquid needles?"

"Don't be a crybaby and deal with it! It's only a little rubbing alcohol!"

Yasu snickered and got up. She looked at the fan and sighed.

_If this didn't accept me, I'd place it back where that bastard Naraku found it_, Yasu thought to herself. _Damn fate._

**_AN: Damn fate, indeed! And as for my best friend who is probably practicing her violin or eating breakfast as I type, I know this chapter was a little rough. And although Yasu was based on you, her past wasn't. Sorry._**


	24. Stop Following Me

_**Chapter Twenty-Four**_

_In this chapter..._

_Yasu and Sesshomaru are trying to resolve issues, but things turn from bad to worse. And now Yasu helps the Inutachi discover that some of them have a privilege others can't!_

...

"Yasu, it's time to change those bandages-" Kagome said, walking into an empty hut. "Huh?"

Inuyasha was already healed, so he walked in of his own accord.

"I guess she up and left, eh? Don't worry, Kagome, she's still hurt. I'll follow her blood scent," he said. Kagome nodded.

Inuyasha hurried along.

_Sesshomaru is still here… Usually he would be following her to make sure she was close. Are they still fighting?_ Kagome thought. Suddenly, she felt enraged.

"Sesshomaru!" she yelled. The demon opened an eye lazily and glanced at her before lazing again in his tree. "Hey! Don't pretend I don't exist! I don't suppose you think it matters where Yasu is, do you?"

"That wench is nothing but," he said. "This Sesshomaru does not see it a worthy journey to watch her flirt with males."

"Oh, I see, you're jealous, aren't you!"

Sesshomaru's eyes opened for real and he glared at her.

"Miko, move yourself away, this Sesshomaru will not be responsible for what happens to you if you do not leave!" he said scathingly.

"Fine, but don't come crying to me if we find Yasu dead in the forest somewhere again…" Kagome let the bait hang for a second before she turned around again. Sesshomaru was gone.

_Ha! It worked!_ She thought. _Now they'll get back together! I just hope I'm not right about her being dead…_

Inuyasha returned shortly after Sesshomaru left, scratching his head in bewilderment.

"Inuyasha! Did you find Yasu?" Kagome asked.

"I found her all right, but as soon as I got there Sesshomaru arrived, and Yasu decided to pick a fight with him. That was the first time in my life I ever saw him restrain someone rather than fight back," he said.

_He restrained her? Oh, I hope they're getting along back there..._ Kagome sighed mentally.

...

"Let go of me, you jerk!" Yasu yelled. Sesshomaru glared at her. "What? You don't intimidate me! Let me go!"

"There is no chance of escape until you calm down, Yasu," he told her. Yasu stopped struggling immediately.

_He used my name? He only does that when it's something important!_ Yasu screamed in her mind.

"W-what?" she asked, losing her steam. _Why is he here, anyway?_

"That miko told this Sesshomaru to find you. She worried for your health, that is all."

Sesshomaru let go of her an turned to walk away.

"That's it? No, 'I'm sorry' or 'Forgive me'? Nothing?"

"There is nothing to apologize for, bird," he said. (_**AN: Gomen, but this is important! I notice I keep making Sesshomaru call Yasu "bird". Now I'm starting to imagine him with a British accent! Nessie out.**_)

"Really? What about pointing fingers and basically calling me a common whore? They never did anything I didn't want them to do, baka! All it was was shameless flirting and the occasional kiss, but that was it! They forgot the whole night when I left their villages!"

"You will do it again," Sesshomaru said.

"No I won't, because I'm not interested in that anymore!" Yasu screamed at his back. "I never was! I have you, my friends... I'm not traveling alone, and I don't need to! But you're so stupid, you think I _enjoy_ being played with!"

Yasu turned around and stalked off. Sesshomaru found himself feeling slightly guilty and turned to follow.

...

"GO AWAY!" Yasu's voice carried over to the rest of the group. Inuyasha looked up with a mouth full of ramen.

"It sounds like Yasu's not too happy with Sesshomaru still," Kagome sighed. _Why can't they just get along? Or even better, realize they really have fallen in love? Sesshomaru's jealous, and Yasu's hurt that he ignored her! Boy, does _that_ sound awfully familiar_...

Kagome stole a glance at Inuyasha, who seemed to be too wrapped up in his ramen to notice her.

"I seriously hope she's not killing him," Yuki said, frowning as she stared at the trees.

"They're an even match, despite her being half a demon," Inuyasha shrugged. "I'm sure whatever's happening is being resolved. If a demon loses its steam, the world is a much happier place."

"Tell me about it," Shippo remarked, staring at Inuyasha. He earned a new lump on the head.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled.

"Hey, he needs to learn a lesson!"

"It doesn't mean you have to use brute force every time you need to 'teach' him something!"

"How else is he going to learn?"

"He needs discipline, sure, but don't wail on him!"

"You two are just as bad as Yasu and Sesshomaru," Yuki sighed, leaning into Kouga automatically. The wolf demon looked at her and smiled. Secretly, he was pumping his fists in the air and cheering in his head. He put an arm around her lazily.

"WHOA! No, no, no, no, no!" Inuyasha yelled at the wolf. "Hands off my sister!"

"Inuyasha, osuwari!" _CRASH!_

"Kagome, you-!"

"I guess happy moments never last forever," Miroku sweatdropped. Sango nodded slowly. Suddenly she stopped and slapped him hard across the face.

"You're right, stupid men always end up ruining them," she growled, lifting the Hiraikotsu to hit him.

"Is there anything besides guys fighting with their women to watch?" Kouga whispered to Yuki.

"I have no clue," she whispered back.

Just then, Yasu charged out of the trees with leaves in her hair. Sesshomaru came out looking like he always did, only with an irritated expression.

"I said, leave me alone," Yasu growled. Sesshomaru said nothing but followed her around. Yasu ran off toward the well.

"Oh! The well!" Yuki yelled, getting up and running to catch up. Everyone got up and followed her.

"Yasu, stop! That well will-!" Kagome yelled. Too late, Yasu jumped inside in a futile effort to hide from Sesshomaru. There was a burst of blue light.

"No, it could've purified her!" Kagome screamed. They looked inside. There was nothing there.

"No..." Yuki whispered. She stole a glance at Sesshomaru, who was wide-eyed and struck speechless. "What if she went to Kagome's home?"

"I'm going to go check," Inuyasha said, jumping down. Kagome followed. They diappeared, as well.

"Whoa, what happened?" Kouga yelled.

"Kouga, calm down, they went to the future, Kagome's true home," Yuki calmed him down.

...

"I see her," Inuyasha growled in the passage of time. Yasu was ahead of them screaming.

They landed in the future. Yasu looked around and screamed again when Inuyasha and Kagome appeared beside her.

"Crazy wench, the well could have purified you!" Inuyasha yelled.

"I didn't know, you stupid puppy! What the hell was that?"

"You're in the future, Yasu," Kagome said calmly.

"W-WHAT?"

_**AN: Sorry for the short chapter, I'm short on ideas and time.**_


	25. Shopping

_**Chapter Twenty-Five**_

_Yasu's in the future, and so is... Yuki, Sango, and Miroku? What in all the Hells?_

_Yasu's dress is beyond the point of saving, according to Mrs. Higurashi. Now what? Shopping, of course!_

Yasu was sulking on Kagome's bed while Mrs. Higurashi fussed over the mud on her clothes. In fact, Yasu was forced to wear jeans and a jacket while the woman cleaned her kimono.

"I can't believe you!" Inuyasha yelled at her. "My brother criticizes everyone! He thinks nothing is worth his time! I'm surprised he even paid any attention to _you_!"

"Inuyasha, stop, you don't know what they're going through right now-" Kagome pleaded.

"Keh, it's not as if Yasu's in _love_ with him! How can anybody have feelings for a cold-hearted person like him?"

"I once thought the same of you, Inuyasha, so stop it!" Kagome smacked him in the chest.

"Eh? Ka-Kagome! Inuyasha! Other people are crawling out of the well!" Souta yelled from outside. Inuyasha and Kagome rushed over to the window. Yuki, Sango, and Miroku were standing there looking around.

"How's that possible?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome climbed on his back and the two jumped out of the window.

"Hey, what are you all doing here?" Kagome asked.

"We figured that if Yasu could go through, so could we," Miroku said. "Yuki was a good subject, because she and Inuyasha share the same blood."

"When Yuki returned in one piece, we all tried it," Sango finished.

"What are you _wearing_, Yasu?" Yuki asked when she saw the sorceress jumping out the window as well.

"Don't ask, I don't care," Yasu snapped.

"She's really touchy about the Sesshomaru situation," Kagome whispered to Yuki. The other girl nodded understandingly.

Yasu turned to glare at them.

"Ulp!" Kagome gulped, cowering away.

"Well, your dress is to the point of no repair, Yasu," Mrs. Higurashi said, coming out. "Oh, we have more guests? Welcome, welcome!"

"Mom, what will Yasu wear if her dress is ruined?" Kagome asked.

"I suppose we could go shopping for a new one," the woman's eyes sparkled. "I'm sure there's a formal dress store that could supply a dress similar to the fashions of the Feudal Era."

Yasu groaned. She was sure, with the kinds of fashions she's seen in Kagome's wardrobe, that there was no hope of finding one like her dress.

…

"How about this store?" Mrs. Higurashi offered, pointing at one that displayed a kimono on the mannequin. Yasu took a glance at it and shuddered. Its colors were too bright! She looked lazily at another window and stared.

Kagome followed her eye line to a very flashy dress in the window. She shot a bewildered look at Yasu.

"That's a little showy, don't you think, Yasu?" she asked. "I mean, it only comes up to here!"

Kagome placed her hand to a little higher than mid-thigh. The sleeves were extremely short, too, and when they looked at the back, there was no back! It tied at the top and dipped in a long "u" at the base of the backside. The only thing it basically covered was the front and a little of the back, with a mandarin collar that went up to half the throat.

"Think about it, Kagome," Yasu said, "I always need to cut a hole for my wings anyway, and too much material slows me down. Besides, with less material covering my legs, I'll be able to move better!"

"To each their own, I guess," Yuki murmured to Sango. The woman nodded.

The boys were keeping busy at the Higurashi shrine, biding their time as the girls were all shopping.

Yuki scratched her head. The white beanie on her head itched! Not to mention, she was forced to wear a skirt and jacket to go outside! Inuyasha had fallen on the floor laughing at his sister when she came out wearing what she did. Sango, of course, didn't mind the jeans and turtleneck she was wearing. It reminded her slightly of her slayer's uniform.

"Try it on," Mrs. Higurashi encouraged. Yasu went and found one that looked to be her size and went into the dressing room.

Yasu found that it was perfect for battling in, because her legs were free when she walked. Her wings unfolded carefully in the dressing room, and she admired the fact that the material didn't push at them or her wings didn't hit any cloth coming out.

"It's perfect," Yasu whispered, grinning at her reflection in the mirror.

"We'll wear it out," Mrs. Higurashi told the saleslady when it was time to buy. Yasu was told to go back and put it on. Thankfully, her hair covered her wings, so nobody questioned them. They also bought a separate dress for Yasu to cover up during the winter. Soon, they were headed back to the shrine.

…

"Ah, I love a woman who isn't afraid to bare her legs," Miroku sighed, looking out the window. Inuyasha felt his eyebrow twitch. Did Kagome count? She had better not! He went to look out the window.

"What in all the Hells?" he gasped when he saw Yasu wearing the shortest dress he'd ever seen!

"We're back!" Kagome called out, waving to Inuyasha. The boys came on out.

"Might I say, Yasu, I admire your confidence," Miroku said, taking one of her hands.

"Are you sure you're not admiring something else, hentai?" she retaliated after right-hooking him.

"What the Hell are you wearing, Yasu?" Inuyasha yelled. "Sure, it looks natural on Kagome, but on you it looks all wrong!"

"Get used to it, pup," she said. "It's my new dress until winter, and even then I'll wear it to battle."

"Keh, Sesshomaru was right about you…"

"You say something?" Yasu asked rhetorically when Inuyasha was suddenly four feet into the ground without the use of subjugation beads. Kagome peered down.

"Wow, I only wish I could do that," she sighed.

"What was that?" Inuyasha's voice grumbled from the hole.

"I think the demons are getting antsy," Kagome suggested. "We might as well go back, or Kouga'll purify himself trying to go after Yuki."

"Agreed," Yuki said.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Inuyasha yelled, jumping out of the hole and running to follow.

"Did you hear something?" Yasu asked as she jumped and disappeared into the well.

**_AN: Inuyasha is an ass sometimes. But we love him for it, right? :D_**


	26. Tears

_**AN: Happy Christmas, everybody! Happy holidays, for those of you who have other religious holidays to celebrate!**_

_**Chapter Twenty-Six**_

_In this chapter..._

_Everyone's back in the Feudal Era, and Yasu discovers something startling! Sesshomaru overhears! How does he take it?_

...

"Yasu, what in the world?" Kouga asked when the sorceress climbed out of the well carrying her long dress and wearing the shortest skirt and sleeves he has ever seen! And there was almost no back to it!

"It's my new dress. And Sesshomaru, I swear, I know what you are thinking and you will pay dearly!" Yasu yelled, not even looking at the Taiyoukai.

She guessed he was calling her a flirt in his mind. In reality, however, he was thinking about what sin he committed to make Kami force her to _wear_ such short and tempting clothing! Upon hearing the threat, however, he turned and paid attention to Rin. He stole a glance at Yasu occasionally.

_She is a rebel_, he thought to himself. _Definitely not a common wench._

"Inuyasha, a little help?" Kagome asked from the bottom of the well. Inuyasha climbed down and pulled her onto his back, jumping out. Kouga helped Yuki get out and pulled her into a hug.

"Don't do that ever again, Yuki!" he scolded her. "I don't care if your brother gets his ass purified, but you sure as hell ain't!"

"What was that, you bastard?" Inuyasha growled.

"I'd rather you get your ass purified than your sister!"

"Do _you_ want a trip to the future, skinny wolf?"

"Oh, go ahead and try it! You don't have the guts to kill me!"

"Wow, Kouga doesn't like me anymore and yet they're _still_ fighting," Kagome remarked. Yuki giggled.

"What do you expect? They're boys, and boys are natural idiots," Yasu said, coming over to watch the fight.

"You're calling Sesshomaru an idiot?" Yuki asked, laughter in her tone.

"No, Sesshomaru's a man. Therefore, he's an asshole."

The girls all rolled around laughing. What Yasu didn't expect was for said demon to be standing right behind her. Kagome and Yuki looked up and made a break for it. Yasu froze and turned around. The demon grabbed her shoulders.

"Sess-Sesshomaru?" she yelled. The demon leaned in...

Yasu's heart began to pound. What was he doing? Why was she enjoying the closeness? Kami, he was going to kiss her!

"Kissy, kissy!" Shippo's voice yelled from the Taiyoukai's mouth. He grinned and transformed back into the kitsune.

"Shippo!" Yasu yelled, running after the kitsune. Shippo laughed and scampered off.

"Shippo, that's enough!" Sango scolded him. She shot a wary look at Sesshomaru, who was concentrating so hard on Rin it was obvious he wasn't.

_That little-!_ Yasu thought. _But... When he looked like Sesshomaru, I kind of... liked it. Oh, Kami, not now! I need to get rid of this mark before it's too late!_

Yasu ran into the forest and to the Goshinboku.

"Okay, tree, I need answers... Great, I'm talking to a tree. Kami, I'm losing my mind! Okay, here goes nothing. I've been marked by a Taiyoukai that possibly hates me right now but it's so hard to tell because he never shows any emotion! I realize I might or might not have feelings for him and I need to get rid of this mark before he finds out! Urgh, what am I going to do?"

"Simple. You will explain to this Sesshomaru what you've been keeping from him," a deep voice growled. Yasu gasped and froze in her spot.

_Sesshomaru? !_

_..._

"Kagome, what is taking Yasu and Sesshomaru so long?" Inuyasha groaned. His stomach was rumbling, but Kagome wouldn't let anyone eat until everyone was there.

"Inuyasha, it's only lunch, if we end up skipping it, you'll make up for twice as much at dinner, anyway!" Kagome retorted.

"Excuse me for having an empty stomach," the hanyou grumbled. Yuki didn't blame him. Her stomach was empty, too. It growled, to which Kouga playfully growled back.

"Oh, Kami, now Kouga's talking to my stomach! Kagome, I need to eat before Kouga falls in love with my belly," Yuki yelled.

"By all means," Kagome said. Yuki gratefully ate her food.

"Hey!" Inuyasha growled.

"You don't see _me_ talking to your stomach, do you?"

...

"Sesshomaru, how... when... How much did you hear?" Yasu demanded.

"This Sesshomaru heard your entire conversation with a tree," he said. (_**AN: Admit it, it sounds really funny!**_)

Yasu blushed.

"I was... afraid of that."

"You lied to this Sesshomaru."

"I lied because I know you don't care about me back! I lied to protect myself, and I was going to find a way to revers the mark, being that your intention was far the opposite from being mates with me!"

"You know nothing!"

"Face it, Sesshomaru, you'd rather find a worthy _inu_ female than a filthy half breed with wings!"

"Your blood does not matter to this Sesshomaru!"

Yasu took a startled step back.

"O-oh?" she formed the word into a question. "But... Kagome said you hate humans and half-breeds-"

"This Sesshomaru knows you are only part human. The rest of your blood is demon and oni."

"And?" Yasu could feel her throat constricting. Her eyes stung.

"You are more demon and oni than human, and you are a skilled warrior. Your blood makes for a powerful mate and son."

_He has no intention of being loving,_ Yasu bit her lip to stop herself from crying. _He only wants a child that is more powerful than he is!_

"I see. Well, if that's all, goodbye, Sesshomaru," she said, running back to the village.

Sesshomaru felt like he had betrayed her in some way, but he only spoke the truth. Besides, _she_ betrayed _him_. He owed no apologies.

...

"Yasu! Where's Sesshomaru? Lunch is ready!" Kagome greeted her.

"Just give me the food. I want to go practice." Yasu snapped.

"O-okay," Kagome mumbled, giving her the bowl. Yasu stalked off. Inuyasha grabbed his bowl and dug in.

"Is something wrong?" Kagome wondered.

"I smelled tears," Yuki whispered. "I think my brother and I are going to have a little talk about this."

Inuyasha cowered away from his twin, who, at the moment, looked especially icy. Kouga flinched when her skin turned ice cold.

Sesshomaru made himself known, but everyone ignored him, even Rin!

"Where is she?" he demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Yuki hissed. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed and he was left to follow a slightly concealed scent. Unfortunately, once he reached a certain point, her scent was all over the place.

_I'd like to see him try to figure this one out,_ Yasu snarled in her mind. _He won't find me for the rest of the day!_

_**AN: Okay, this wasn't my best. But hey, more drama! Ooh, drama!**_


	27. Mine

_**AN: Happy Christmas, everybody! Happy holidays, for those of you who have other religious holidays to celebrate! Have a Happy New Year, too!**_

_**Chapter Twenty-Seven**_

_In this chapter..._

_Yasu's doing her best to avoid Sesshomaru, but her plan fails when Hakudoshi decides to pay them a visit on Entei's back._

_When they need medical help, they go to the nearest town. Sesshomaru and Yasu aren't up for it, because it's the Southern lands. But why Yasu?_

...

"Yasu, you can't ignore him forever," Kagome whispered while they were trekking up a mountain.

"Watch me," she hissed.

"But Yasu, you guys have a bond that makes it impossible to be away from each other!" Yuki whispered.

"Leave me alone," Yasu snarled. "I'll be rid of this mark soon, trust me."

Yasu had hidden her mark again, which was considered an insult to the mate. Sesshomaru was on the other end of the train, spending his own sweet time walking. Rin gave both of them disappointed glances.

"Let her cool off, Kagome," Inuyasha warned. Kouga pulled Yuki back, as well.

"Let's not!" a childish voice yelled. They looked up. Inuyasha and Kouga grabbed their girls and jumped away when an attack was hurtled at them. Yasu jumped away.

"Hakudoshi!" Inuyasha yelled. He took out the Tetsusaiga. "Is Naraku sending all of his incarnations now?"

"I'm just here to test my new toys," Hakudoshi laughed. He glanced at Yuki and Yasu. They flinched but kept their ground.

"Toys, huh? Then let's play!" Yasu yelled, flinging an attack from the fan at Hakudoshi. It distracted him enough for Inuyasha to send an attack.

"No interfering, Inuyasha," Hakudoshi gloated. He jumped off of Entei to fly on his own in a miasmic force field. Entei disappeared.

"AAAH!" Kagome, Sango, and Rin screamed. The older girls, startled, dropped their weapons.

"Rin!" Yasu screamed. "Hakudoshi!"

"Fly, bird, fly," Hakudoshi teased. "If anyone should interfere, I cut the miko's throat first."

Hakudoshi and Entei began to fly off. Yasu grit her teeth and opened her wings.

"Yasu, no, your wing didn't heal yet!" Harumi yelled.

"I don't care, they have Rin, Kagome, and Sango. Their lives are worth more than a petty wing."

Yasu jumped off the mountainside and flew toward the retreating child and demon horse. Back at the mountain, Inuyasha and Yuki got ready to follow.

"No, stay where you are," Miroku yelled. "Inuyasha, if Hakudoshi should see you, Kagome will be the first to die!"

"Yasu'll get to them first," Inuyasha said. "Besides, there is an upside to having a twin!"

The twins jumped down and ran to catch up. They weren't jumping, so they weren't seen.

Yasu thought she was doing real well with her wing when she suddenly felt searing pain travel along her wing and through her body.

"No, I have to keep flying!" she growled. The pain was becomming unbearable. Even more so by the second. She felt herself losing altitude.

"Yasu's wing is slowing her down," Inuyasha yelled. Yuki nodded.

"C'mon, just a little more..." Yuki quietly cheered her friend on.

"Yasu! Look out!" Kagome's voice screamed. Yasu swerved to the right as Hakudoshi slashed at her. She felt her wing starting to go numb.

"Ah!" Yasu screeched in pain when her wing started to stop working. Blood seeped through the bandages.

"NO!" Rin shrieked. Yasu began to fall. Then...

_Whoosh_!

Yasu disappeared. Everyone looked to the left and saw Sesshomaru cradling her in his arm. Inuyasha and Kagome jumped out, running in a large circle to confuse the demon horse. Entei thrashed and hit Yuki in the shoulder, pushing her back into the trees. Inuyasha ran to aid her before he noticed his mistake and looked up.

"Kagome!" he yelled.

"Ha! The girl dies!" Hakudoshi yelled. Yasu grasped something on her neck weakly and threw it at Kagome. The miko caught it, and Hakudoshi's blade bounced off of... nothing.

Kagome opened her eyes as a blue barrier began to form around her and her friends. She looked at the object Yasu tossed to her.

It was sort of an amulet. It was in the shape of a sun, and had a hawk's feather attached to the bottom. It was held by a leather string. The sun shape was pulsing.

"You die!" Hakudoshi yelled, throwing his spear at Sesshomaru's back.

Everything happened in a blur. If someone closed their eyes, they would have missed it.

Yasu and Sesshomaru both reacted. Sesshomaru had sent out his poison whip. Yasu swung her arm and from her claws came a blue boomerang-like object. The two attacks brought the spear closer and they caught it. Yasu threw it back in a short millisecond and it struck Entei. Yasu's boomerang attack struck Hakudaoshi, forcing the boy to retreat.

"They did it!" Inuyasha gasped, rushing forward to meet Kagome as she and Sango and Rin glided down in the force field. Kagome handed Yasu her necklace back. Sesshomaru eyed it.

"Yasu-sama, your wing!" Rin exclaimed, examining it. "It's bleeding even more!"

"Damn," Yasu grunted, holding her shoulder. Flying opened the wound even more, and now the gash was on her back, as well.

"We need to take you to a village," Inuyasha told her. "How stupid could you get, Yasu? You knew you would get hurt like this!"

"Would you rather Kagome was with Naraku right now?" Yasu snapped. "Help me up!"

Yuki helped the sorceress up.

"There's a village nearby," Sango said. "I saw smoke when we were on Entei."

"I don't want to go there," Yasu groaned, but had no opinion in the matter as everyone arrived and agreed upon taking her to a doctor or something.

"Sorry, Yasu, I can only bandage superficial, or should I say superficial to hanyou, wounds. Your wound is something a doctor in my time would need to stitch up," Kagome apologized.

Yasu still didn't want to be carried all the way by Sesshomaru, nor was she able to walk. She rode on Ah-Un with Rin instead.

_Yasu still won't be anywhere near Sesshomaru, even after he saved her? Why?_ Yuki pondered. Her shoulder throbbed and Inuyasha rubbed it.

"I wonder what happened between those two," Yuki whispered to her twin.

"I don't know. Yasu seems so unusually cold now. I wonder what Sesshomaru said to her," Inuyasha whispered back.

"Yasu-sama, why don't you want to go to the village?" Rin asked.

"Well, I suppose it is because I was born and raised there. I have been anxious to keep moving since we arrived at the border of these lands. You will see why soon, Rin," Yasu answered.

"It seems like the only person she hasn't snapped at is Rin," Kagome said quietly.

...

They reached the gates of the village to be met by silence. Yasu jumped off of Ah-Un.

"There are no guards?" Sango asked.

"Stick close, everyone," Yasu warned. It was good she did, too, because in the next second a giant hawk swooped down and grazed Inuyasha's shoulder.

"AH! That little-!" Inuyasha took out the Tetsusaiga. Yasu punched him in the gut.

"Cut it out, it's a test, stupid," she yelled at him. "Isamu, stand down!"

The hawk shrank to reveal a handsome man in full armor and wings.

"Yasu-sama, you have returned," he knelt at her feet. Yasu took a step back.

"I don't want to do this..." Yasu groaned, walking into the gates.

"It's Yasu-sama!"

"Our Lady has returned!"

"Praise her soul!"

Everywhere the Inutachi looked, hawk youkai were staring and whispering. Yasu seemed really uncomfortable here.

"Yasu, you're the Lady of the South?" Yuki asked.

"Unfortunately," she whispered.

"But that means you're royalty!" Kagome said excitedly.

"I don't care what class I'm in. I don't like people staring at me," Yasu growled.

"It's a sorceress thing. Many like to live in solitude and have little to no attention on them," Harumi supplied, jumping onto Kagome's shoulder. "That's why she doesn't want to be here. And there's also..."

"Yasu, my love!" another handsome hawk demon with the same sun symbol as Yasu's came running. He took Yasu into an enormous hug. Yasu exclaimed in pain as he squeezed her wound.

"Get. Off. Shigeo," Yasu said menacingly.

"Love, you are wounded! I challenge he who tore your beautiful wing!" Shigeo brought out a sword and faced Sesshomaru. "I think you're the one who did it, my nose doesn't lie! Yasu's scent is all over your filthy body!"

"Shigeo, leave Lord Sesshomaru alone," an old demon approached. His forehead shone with a red sun symbol. Sesshomaru bowed formally to him.

"Uncle!" Yasu said. "It is good to see you."

"I am happy to see you, dear niece, but unhappy to see your wing so torn..." The demon sighed. "I shall have my finest take a look at it and treat it. But come, we must celebrate your return."

"I won't be here long, Uncle. We merely came for medical assistance," Yasu apologized, bowing low.

"Who is this Shigeo guy?" Inuyasha asked as they entered the manor.

"I am Yasu's betrothed and true love!" Shigeo declared, making himself known. Yasu groaned and put her face in her hand. Sesshomaru's eyes widened.

"Shigeo was supposed to be my betrothed if I came of age without a mate," Yasu explained. "Of course, I'm of age now, and..."

"You returned to marry and mate me!" Shigeo finished.

"Well, he certainly isn't bright," Inuyasha mumbled to Yuki and Kagome, both of which covered their mouths to stop from giggling.

Yasu was beginning to regret leaving her village.

"Is this true, bird?" Sesshomaru demanded.

"Yes," Yasu admitted grudgingly.

"You are no better than I thought," he said, walking away.

"But-" Yasu pleaded. Sesshomaru ignored her.

"Niece?" her uncle questioned.

"I'll be in my room, then," Yasu said quietly. The look on her face showed she was fighting tears. She turned and ran off. Shigeo ran to follow.

"Yasu, love, wait for me," he called out. Suddenly, he was yanked back. He looked behind him to find Inuyasha and Miroku holding him back.

"You probably don't know this, but you might have just ruined Yasu's life completely," Miroku said.

"Yasu was completely happy without you ruining her day," Inuyasha added.

"Then I shall make it better!" Shigeo insisted, running in the direction Sesshomaru left.

"Oh, dear..." Yasu's uncle murmured. "I believe I need an explanation."

"Kagome and I would be happy to explain, my Lord," Yuki volunteered. "Everyone, stay out here."

...

The feast was quiet. Sesshomaru was hardly present. He sat far away from Yasu and didn't pay attention to her. Yasu was always looking down, even when people talked to her.

"This is horrible, how can we get this to stop?" Kagome hissed to Sango and Yuki.

"I don't know!" Sango whispered back.

"Well, I suppose this feast should be cut short," Yasu's uncle said. "Goodnight, everyone."

Yasu got up immediately and walked brusquely to her room. Sesshomaru got up and followed.

"Bird, wait," Sesshomaru said. Yasu started to walk faster. "Yasu, stop."

Yasu stopped right in from of her bedroom door.

"You... I hope you're here to apologize, because I'm not apologizing for something I didn't do," Yasu snapped.

Suddenly, she was tackled by the demon. Her lips were pinned to his and his hands were roaming all over her. She felt violated and humiliated.

"Sess-Sesshomaru, get off of me!" she yelled. He pushed her into her room. As they reached the candlelight, the illusion changed to show Shigeo holding her.

"No, you're not Sesshomaru! Get off of me, Shigeo!"

"We shall be mated forever," he whispered in her ear.

"No! SESSHOMARU!"

There was a second of brief struggling before Shigeo's arms were off of her. Yasu fell backwards and coughed. She didn't realize he was constricting her. The Inutachi and Yasu's uncle ran into the room. Inuyasha ran to help Yasu up.

"Get off of me, dog!" Shigeo's voice screeched. Both demons' eyes were turning red. The markings on their faces shifted.

"Stop, both of you!" Yasu yelled.

"It's too late, Sesshomaru's gone territorial and Shigeo wants to defeat him to get to you. We can only watch and hope Sesshomaru lives," Yuki said.

The demons crashed through the wall and into the yard area. Yasu screamed when both showed their true forms and Shigeo slashed at Sesshomaru's face. The dog demon blinked back the blood. He had a long gash on his right eye. He growled and bit Shigeo's wing and shook him, throwing him into the air.

"No, stop Shigeo before it's too late!"

"Uncle?" Yasu turned to see her uncle watching in horror as Shigeo grew in size.

"Shigeo has a power, one that makes him stronger then his demonic enemies in battle. Your Lord Sesshomaru will not handle the power!"

"No, stop, Shigeo!" Yasu opened her wings and pulled out her fan. "_Twister_!"

A tornado started to pull Shigeo away. When it disappeared, Shigeo crashed into the ground. He began to turn into his human form again. Sesshomaru transformed, too.

"You! You are my betrothed! This dog wishes to ruin you!" the hawk demon screeched.

"This dog... is my mate," Yasu admitted. She lifted her bangs and let her crescent moon mark appear.

"Tricks... Sorcery!"

Sesshomaru came up from behind Yasu and held her firmly. Using his nose he pulled her hair out of the way and nuzzled the spot where his teeth made their mark on her. The crescent on her forehead glittered while Yasu blushed furiously. Those in the Inutachi that had no idea gasped as they watched Shigeo take a step back and fall to his knees.

"I apologize profusely, Lady and Lord," he said. "Forgive me, if you please!"

"Uncle?" Yasu offered. The old demon nodded and approached Shigeo.

"Shigeo, because of your attempted assault on our Lady and your rebellion against an honored guest, you are hereby sentenced to exile. Leave these lands immediately," the old demon ordered.

"You will regret this," Shigeo whispered to Yasu and Sesshomaru before transforming and flying away.

_**AN: Don't worry, this isn't the last you'll see of **_**him_! And yes, the secret is finally out and known by all. I believe we even witnessed Sesshomaru showing quite a bit of emotion... :3_**


	28. Life

_**Chapter Twenty-Six**_

_In this chapter..._

_Yasu gives the Inutachi a more in-depth story of her life and her personal power. Oh, and is she really faster than Kouga?_

...

"Well, on the bright side, your uncle's medicines made it so that you can fly again," Kagome began. "On the downside, Sesshomaru won't let you fly until your wing is completely healed."

Everyone eyed Sesshomaru's arm, which was around Yasu's waist. If Kagome didn't know any better, it was like he was giving her a loving embrace. In reality, however, she knew he was keeping her grounded. Yasu looked like she was itching to touch the sky again.

"Just you wait, I'll be in the sky, free of restrains again," Yasu warned.

"No matter what, Yasu, Sesshomaru's not leaving your side," Yuki smirked. "He acknowledged his hold on you that night with Shigeo, when he nuzzled your bite mark. He's not letting you out of his sight again."

Yasu's eye twitched in irritation. Sesshomaru's small smirk showed the truth Yuki foretold.

"Jerk," she mumbled. The smirk grew a little bit.

There was a cry from a village nearby. Inuyasha and the gang all ran to see what troubled them.

"Oh, no, Jaken, take Rin and Ah-Un and keep Rin busy!" Yasu ordered. Jaken saw the scene and rushed to move the little girl.

Bandits were butchering the village. Many of them were demons, but there were a few humans. A woman was crouched over one bloody body in particular and cringing, awaiting the deathblow one of the bandits attempted to deliver.

"ARGH!" the bandit yelled in pain when Yasu threw him to the ground and stomped on his right hand, breaking the bones. Inuyasha and Yuki were fighting one of the stronger demons together while Kagome helped purify the others.

"Are you all right?" Yasu asked.

"My... my husband..." the woman sobbed, looking down at the man. His right hand was chopped away, as was his left leg.

_This man was tortured_, Yasu realized.

"I will help you soon, but first I need to help my friends fight," she said, rushing to Sesshomaru's side. The Taiyoukai had managed to cut it up badly, but it was still fighting.

"It's got a Shikon shard near its heart!" Kagome yelled to the sorceress. "It's making it difficult to kill it, but if you can attack its youki..."

"_Go_!" Yasu yelled, swinging her fan at the demon. The blue streaks cut through the demonic aura and killed the demon. Yasu stuck her sword into its torso and retrieved the shard. It seemed like the demon was the leader, because all that remained retreated quickly.

"Anybody willing to bet this was Naraku's?" Yasu asked rhetorically, holding the jewel with her talons. She handed the shard to Kagome, whose touch instantly turned the black jewel light pink-purple. "Everyone, bring your dead and line them up. I shall give them a second chance."

The wife helped others carry their sons, daughters, husbands, and wives to the sorceress. Yasu knelt by the woman's husband and pressed a hand to his heart. She smiled gently.

"This man's element is soil from the grounds he farms. Retrieve that for me," Yasu told the woman. She stood up and immediately brought back a handful of earth from the field.

"Here, this soil is what he recently turned before those bandits killed him," she said. She placed it on her husband's chest while Yasu chanted. Everyone watched with awe as the man began to stir. The limbs that were severed regenerated.

"Eh? His hand and leg-!" Jaken gasped. He looked at Sesshomaru's arm.

"When I first brought a man to life, he was missing his left eye," Yasu whispered. "My power brings back all that is life, even a limb from the netherworld. But... I would not suggest death to anybody who lost anything. Death is a miserable place."

She turned and smiled sadly at Sesshomaru. Then she turned back to the now-living man.

"Give him plenty of water and rest, he has been through so much in the other world," she told the wife.

"Thank you, thank you," the woman sobbed.

...

"Your power is of life, you said?" Miroku asked when the Inutachi left the group.

"Yes. My power is one others can mimic, but only dream of acquiring. I am the only sorceress known to bring a soul back from the dead without the aid of anything but their spiritual elements. Many have tried, but can never master my power. They resort instead to using clay, or the Shikon shards... Even Sesshomaru's Tenseiga is but a replica of life," Yasu looked down sadly. "The curse I have holds me back. Before I was cursed, I could freely bring those who died to life with but a touch."

"If you could easily bring the dead to life, why not use it on your parents?" Inuyasha questioned.

"Their souls still exist in this world while their bodies have perished. You may thank Naraku for that," Yasu grit her teeth. "I curse him for it. At first I only believed my father to be absorbed by him, but I recently discovered that my mother was, too. You observed her power in Kagura, my mother's soul in a hideous demon body and mind."

"Kagura?" Kagome gasped. "Oh, Yasu!"

"That's why the fan accepted me when it didn't Kagura. My mother's soul has been corrupted, and I continue as her only daughter. But... I plan on freeing my parents from Naraku's wrath soon."

Harumi jumped up and clung to Yasu's neck, giving her a hug. The sorceress laughed and hugged her kit back. Rin even made her way over and held Yasu's hand.

"You're not alone, we all have our reasons to defeat him," Sango gave Yasu a small smile.

"Of course," Yasu smiled back. "And now I'm not alone!"

The sorceress pounced on Inuyasha, knocking him over.

"Oi! What was that for?" he yelled.

"I needed a little fun. Nyah!" Yasu stuck her tongue out and ran off.

"HEY!" Inuyasha chased her.

"Tag team!" Yuki yelled, jumping onto Kouga's back. The wolf ran off to join the fight.

"Not again!" Kagome laughed. She raced to catch Inuyasha. Sesshomaru watched with a mix of amusement and worry. He was proud that Yasu could hold her own and defend herself, of course, but Inuyasha wasn't holding back with the Tetsusaiga.

"Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha attacked. Kagome laughed when Yasu dodged the attack effortlessly and stuck her tongue out at him.

"You call that speed? I can escape any attack-" Yasu bragged before she was thrown to the ground.

"You were saying, bird?" Sesshomaru smirked, getting off of her. Yasu blushed furiously while everyone just laughed. (_**AN: OHMYGAWD, SESSHY'S GONE **_**PLAYFUL_!_**)

"Well, you're faster than me," Yasu admitted. "But I'm still faster than anybody else!"

"Right, I bet Kouga can kick your ass in a race!" Inuyasha scoffed. Kouga looked forward to a challenge.

"Want to bet? If I lose, I don't fly unless we're fighting for a week. If you lose, Kagome will sit you whenever I want for a week!" Yasu challenged. Inuyasha scoffed and held out his hand. Yasu took it.

"To the tree all the way over there and back," Inuyasha said, pointing. The tree was at the base of a mountain, which, according to Kagome, was almost two miles away. The tree itself was pretty large, so it was an easy marker.

"Okay, ready, Kouga? Oops, I mean, ready to get your ass whooped?" Yasu asked, kneeling at the line Inuyasha drew with a stick. Kouga scoffed and just stood there.

"Ready, this will be over in no time!" the wolf bragged.

"Get ready," Kagome yelled, "get set... GO!"

Kouga was gone in a tornado. Yasu was still kneeling.

"Yasu, what are you doing, go!" Jaken yelled.

"I'm making Kouga feel good about himself enough so I can see his face fall when I beat him," Yasu explained before disappearing. Everyone watched as she ran and spread her wings, flying straight past Kouga. By the time the wolf was halfway there, Yasu was already at the tree. She turned her body so she could launch off of it without touching the ground. She was back by the time Kouga even reached the tree.

Everyone besides Sesshomaru was staring at Yasu with their mouths wide open.

"H-hey, you cheated! It was supposed to be a foot race!" Inuyasha yelled.

"You never specified. Kagome?" Yasu looked lazily at Kagome.

"Osuwari."

Kouga returned to see a pissed-off Inuyasha picking himself up off the ground.

"Well, I guess Yasu _is_ faster," the wolf demon admitted, scratching the top of his head. Yasu went over to Rin and handed her a leaf.

"Here, hold onto this, Rin," she said.

"Thank you, Yasu-sama!" the little girl said, beaming. She went over the Jaken and let him inspect the leaf.

Yasu, satisfied, went back to her normal position next to Sesshomaru. His arm pinned her to him, but she didn't seem to mind anymore. She was able to fly in the race, so she didn't want to for a while.

"Kagome, do you see anything different about them?" Sango whispered.

"Yeah, it's almost as if Sesshomaru's softening up. He _did_ tackle her and then tease her for it earlier," Kagome whispered back. If Sesshomaru heard them, he didn't show it.

"Kouga!" Yuki jumped onto his back again.

"NO! DON'T TOUCH HER, WOLF!" Inuyasha yelled. Kouga ran off with Yuki laughing on his back.

"Oh, dear..." Sango laughed as Inuyasha managed to pull his sister off of Kouga. The two crashed into each other and fell backwards.

"Well, they have to release their energy somehow," Yasu rolled her eyes. "What's better than a friendly fight between twins?"

_**AN: Yeah, what's better? Besides Yasu beating Kouga in a race, that is, or Sesshomaru showing his fun side! Review!**_


	29. Energy

_**Chapter Twenty-Eight**_

_In this chapter..._

_I've written a few mini-scenes that wouldn't suffice as a chapter alone. Here you are!_

...

"MIROKU YOU HENTAI!"

All the men turned their heads to see all the girls beating Miroku up. Sesshomaru turned around lazily. He didn't mind it. Miroku would get killed by Yasu without his help.

"The hands are posessed..." Miroku excused himself.

"Really? Well, we know how to handle demons," Yasu said, pulling out her sword. "Think of it this way, Miroku. You won't have a wind tunnel to worry about anymore!"

"GAAAAAAH!" Miroku ran and hid behind Inuyasha.

"If you weren't my friend, I would have moved away," Inuyasha told the monk.

"Ooh, that monk makes me mad!" Yasu snarled. Yuki nodded while rubbing her backside where Miroku pinched her. It was the first time he made an advance on her, and she wasn't expecting it. Of course, she gave him a lump on the head for it, so none of her brothers made a move to help her.

"I thought he stopped doing that," Kagome groaned, sitting down.

"What do you mean? He does it to _me _all the time!" Sango yelled.

"I mean with me. And he even pinched Yuki!" Kagome said.

"Yeah, remind me to beat him myself for that," Inuyasha said, turning to glare at his 'friend'.

"Ulp," Miroku inched away.

...

Sesshomaru and Yasu were gone. It wasn't surprising to find them missing. Kagome supposed they liked peace, and Yasu liked to stay out of large groups whenever she could. The Inutachi was probably the biggest group she has ever been introduced to. Miroku was sitting alone while Sango played with Kirara, the kits, and Rin. Every once in a while she'd sent warning glares at the monk. Inuyasha was sparring with Yuki with Kouga watching and cheering.

The miko thought it would be nice to cook a nice, hot meal for everyone when they returned. She turned around to look at Miroku. She wanted help, but she didn't want to risk being groped again. She decided help was a luxury and went to gather ingredients herself.

"You really should leave me be," Yasu said, opening one eye to look at Sesshomaru. He stood there watching her as she was meditating. She didn't mind it so much, but didn't he have something else to do? Surely her meditating wasn't the most interesting thing to watch.

"Rin and Jaken are being kept busy," Sesshomaru told her.

Yasu opened her eyes and got up from her position. What was with Sesshomaru? A quick aura check told her it was really Sesshomaru and not a mere disguise.

"What's with you?" she asked, frowning. She still wouldn't forgive him for more or less saying she was merely a carrier for offspring. "You don't care for me much, but you won't leave me alone!"

"Would you rather this Sesshomaru leave?" the demon challenged.

"No, no... Stay. But... Keep yourself busy. I'm sure you're bored just standing there."

Sesshomaru gave her a little smirk before approaching and sitting next to her. Yasu sat as well.

"Meditate, bird. I shall do so as well," he said.

_He's getting less formal and more personal with me as time flies_, Yasu thought to herself. She closed her eyes and paid more attention to emptying her mind.

...

"Dinner is ready!" Kagome's voice called out. Yasu opened her eyes. It seemed like seconds ago she and Sesshomaru sat down to meditate together. Sesshomaru stood and helped her up.

"Thanks," she said. She felt more powerful and in control of her spiritual energy. She also felt a calmer aura around Sesshomaru. They walked to the campgrounds together.

"What is it that you two were doing that took so long?" Miroku questioned. "I know you two are mates now, but-"

"You better make sure what's in your head doesn't leave your mouth," Yasu said, booting him in the head.

"Good, food, I'm starving," Inuyasha said when he arrived. Kouga passed by the group with a snoozing Yuki on his back and placed her in a sleeping bag. He came back and sat next to Inuyasha

"I see you drained all her energy, Inuyasha," Kagome noted, looking at Yuki.

"She drained it herself using her powers most of the time," Inuyasha grumbled, stuffing his mouth with rice and vegetables. Kouga smirked as he bit into a bit of raw rabbit, which Kagome reserved especially for him and Sesshomaru. Of course, the dog demon didn't touch his food.

"I wonder... How is it that she was born with the ability to control ice when you are just a normal hanyou?" Yasu said randomly.

"I wondered that, too," Miroku said, putting down his food. "You would think there would be some reason for why she was born like that."

"Maybe she was just born like that, I don't know," Inuyasha grumbled. Truthfully, he was thinking about the same thing.

Everyone looked at Yuki. She was sleeping so peacefully.

"Ice is calm," Kagome blurted out. Everyone turned to give her a strange look. "I mean, when I look at ice it seems to neutral and calm, doesn't it? Yuki is more rational than Inuyasha, perhaps that has something to do with it?"

"Now that I think about it, if Yuki is anywhere near Inuyasha, he starts to think clearly, too," Sango said.

"And Yuki has more aggressiveness," Kouga realized.

"We'll think about it later, okay?" Inuyasha was turning red from all the attention he was getting. He envied his sister, who was too deep in sleep to know they were talking about her, too.

Kagome smiled and bit into a vegetable. She wasn't about to let this go.

...

"Sesshomaru-sama and Yasu-sama are going to have a wedding?" Rin asked one day. Yasu froze. Who told her that?

"What was that, Rin?" Sesshomaru asked.

"When Sesshomaru-sama and Yasu-sama wed, you will bear children?"

"MONK!"

Miroku ran off with Yasu and Sesshomaru at his heels.

"Um, Rin, I don't think that will be until a long time," Kagome said, sweat-dropping as Yasu beat Miroku to a pulp. Inuyasha groaned and ran to help the monk.

"But the houshi said-"

"That monk is a no-good, dirty rotten pervert!" Sango said. She was clearly upset that Miroku told Rin something like that. The little girl looked down. She secretly hoped for a little brother or sister.

"Inuyasha, don't!" Yuki yelled, running over. She froze her brother's arm while it was still raised. She pulled the Tetsusaiga from his grasp.

"Yuki! Give it back!" Inuyasha yelled. The ice was starting to melt.

"Promise you're not going to hurt anyone," Yuki said. She saw the ice melting and grit her teeth. She wasn't the one doing it.

"Fine!" Inuyasha broke his arms free. Yuki handed Tetsusaiga back to him.

"You can't swing it around like that," she said. "You might lose control."

"Lose control of what? My demon side? Feh, it's because of Tetsusaiga I'm my normal self," her twin scoffed.

His demon blood wasn't what she was talking about.

_**AN: What was that? Does Yuki know something, once again, that nobody else knows? Dun dun duuuun!**_

_**I finished The Final Act this morning. Why did it have to end? *Sobs in corner***_


	30. Rage

_**Chapter Twenty-Nine**_

_In this chapter..._

_Kagura returns with a surprise that leaves Yasu crumbling to pieces, and this time nothing can help her but bitter hatred for Naraku. And why is Inuyasha's fighting style different?_

...

"Saimyosho!" Kagome pointed at the sky. Yasu let her wings loose and flew to destroy the wasps.

"No, look out-!" Inuyasha yelled. Too late.

The Saimyosho exploded in a cloud of miasma. Nobody was sure what happened to Yasu until she was falling from the sky bound in what looked like purple webbing.

"I got her!" Kouga yelled, running to catch the sorceress. Kagome shot the cloud and the miasma dispersed, revealing Kagura. She was holding in one hand a nest of Saimyosho and in the other Yasu's fan.

"Eh? The fan!" Kagome yelled. Sesshomaru glided to destroy the incarnation.

"Not so fast, Sesshomaru," Kagura said, throwing an attack at the Taiyoukai.

"Sesshomaru! STOP!" Yasu screamed. The attack cut Sesshomaru up pretty badly, but they faded and disappeared. But that wasn't what made Yasu shriek.

Sesshomaru was falling! She struggled against the miasmic binds that burned through her skin. Inuyasha came to her and used his bare hands to tear them off.

"Inuyasha, your hands!" Yasu gasped. He turned his palms up.

"They're fine," he told her and pushed her away. "You save your mate, I sure as hell am not!"

_He's got his own to protect,_ Yasu thought to herself, running to catch Sesshomaru. She took out her wings and grabbed his hand. The demon gripped it tightly, and Yasu winced. _He's in pain_.

"Sesshomaru, stay here," she told him when she set him down. "Even you aren't invincible."

"Yasu, I will fight-"

"No. Stay, your life is on the line right now."

With that, Yasu turned and ran to fight.

"You'll pay for trying to kill my mate!" she shrieked, pulling out the Hawkeye Blade and leaving the ground.

"Hasn't that miasma burned through your wings yet?" Kagura snapped, swinging the fan at her. Yasu dodged the attacks.

"Haven't you noticed? MIASMA DOESN'T AFFECT ME!" Yasu screeched, lifting the sword to strike Kagura.

"Not so fast," Kagura smirked. Yasu saw a blur and suddenly she was hitting the earth with incredible force.

"YASU!" everyone yelled.

"Nngh," she moaned, losing consciousness. The last thing she saw was a horribly familiar face, shielding Kagura from her.

...

"Bird, wake up," Sesshomaru's voice whispered. Yasu opened her eyes.

"I don't get it!" Inuyasha yelled. "That demon looked exactly like her!"

Yasu sat up instantly. Her head throbbed, but she didn't care.

"Dad!" she yelled. Sesshomaru placed a hand on her shoulder to force her down again. Yasu fought him and ended up winning. Sesshomaru sighed and let her go.

"What?" Inuyasha demanded angrily.

"That demon... was my father," Yasu said, covering her face with her hands. "Oh, God, Naraku's using everything against me now... Sesshomaru!"

Yasu turned to him quickly. He was paler than usual. She touched his cheek.

"He was hit by that blue light from your fan," Kagome said. "What was it supposed to do?"

"Thank God she missed him," Yasu said, pulling him to her in a hug. "That attack was meant for his demon vortex. But she did cut it a little."

"What can we do?" Jaken yelled, jumping up.

"We'll have to wait until it heals on its own. I can only help a little," Yasu sighed.

...

Yasu was in the middle of bandaging her wounds when a hand reached in and stopped her.

"You are tying those too tight," Sesshomaru whispered. "You will eventually lose blood in your wings."

He pulled her hair out of the way and loosened the bandages slightly. Then he took a new bandage and tied it one-handedly around the last burn.

"Thank you, Sesshomaru," Yasu said after a while. "I trust you are gaining your health back?"

"Yes, thanks to you," he said. His hand, which was originally on her shoulder, trailed to her waist. He nudged her bitemark with his nose, making her crescent mark glimmer. Yasu felt her face heat up in a blush.

"Yasu, why are you so angry?" Sesshomaru asked, lifting his head to sniff the rose-petal aroma flowing from her hair. (_**AN: Yasu likes to steal Kagome's shampoo. :)**_)

"It is because..." Yasu pulled away and turned to face a disappointed demon lord. "Naraku is purposefully using my parents against me. I will not rest until they are put to rest."

"You need rest," Sesshomaru argued. Yasu shook her head.

"My parents haven't been laid to rest for years. A few weeks certainly won't kill me. Come on, I guess I can spar with Inuyasha," Yasu said, standing up. Sesshomaru gave her a disapproving glare but she ignored it and walked over to the twins.

"Hey, Yasu, what's up?" Inuyasha asked.

"I need a partner to spar with, and there is no way I'm letting Sesshomaru practice with me. He needs to heal," Yasu said.

"Hypocrite," was said demon lord's response.

"Sure thing. Just make sure he doesn't kill me when I send you back crying," Inuyasha challenged.

"Oh, trust me, Kagome's going to hate me when you come back bruised!"

"She's seen me worse, you can't do anything more than bruise me!"

"Is that a challenge?"

"You bet it is!"

"Just spar already!" Yuki yelled. Everyone laughed.

"Let's go," Inuyasha said, walking far enough away for everyone to be out of danger and yet close enough for everyone to watch.

"Don't hold back," Yasu told him. Inuyasha grinned before charging, Tetsusaiga raised.

"RAAARGH!" he yelled. All the pent up energy inside him was starting to be unleashed.

Yasu predicted when he would swing and waited. Just as he brought down the blade, she jumped and kicked him in the side. He lost his balance and fell, only to jump back up again and deflect the sword coming straight at him.

Yasu saw something like light glint in his eyes as he fought. He was losing control way too fast.

"WHOA! Inuyasha, calm down!" she yelled. It was no use. Everyone in the group realized something was wrong and stood up.

"Yasu? What's going on?" Yuki called out. Yasu didn't have time to answer. She had to dodge all the ferocious attacks Inuyasha was sending her way. He was getting quicker. His moves seemed more practiced, and yet even more wild and unpredictable.

"Everyone, get into the air!" Yasu yelled. Sesshomaru grabbed Rin and Jaken and threw them on Ah-Un. Kirara took Miroku, Sango, and the kits. Harumi reached into Yasu's pouch (which she left behind) and placed a wing charm on Kouga. Kouga lifted Kagome into his arms and jumped. Yuki and Sesshomaru glided into the air on their own. Now they could only watch.

"Why isn't she flying?" Kagome asked.

"It's too dangerous. If Inuyasha attacked when she was in the air, we would all be in danger. A ground attack would also put us in great risk," Sesshomaru explained.

"What's going on with him?"

"He's releasing the power that built up in him over time," Yuki said. She lifted her hands and created something of an ice bubble around them. The ice was clear, so they could still watch the fight.

"Inuyasha, calm down!" Yasu was yelling. "You're losing control!"

Nobody's voice could reach him. Inuyasha wasn't even paying attention. He was remembering his sister's death, followed by his family. He remembered being all alone as he ran from demons that wanted him for dinner. He was watching in his head as Kikyo shot him with her arrow, and then waking up to find Kikyo dead and gone. He remembered the Band of Seven and almost losing Kagome. He remembered Naraku and how he killed Kikyo in the river of miasma (_**AN: I know she didn't die then, but work with me. I started writing this before I watched the rest of the anime. I finished now, though...**_). He remembered every bad thing that happened to him and those he loved. When he looked up at the person he was fighting with, all he saw was a dark image. He lifted the Tetsusaiga.

"Oh!" everyone exclaimed. The Tetsusaiga was covered in flame!

"Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha yelled. Yasu screamed when bursts of flame and energy headed straight for her. She turned and covered her head.

"Inuyasha, stop!" Yuki yelled, creating another ice barrier in front of Yasu.

Inuyasha blinked and saw the burns and destruction he created, as well as a frightened Yasu. He felt as if all the energy in his body left him. He suddenly felt much heavier...

The world around him turned dark.

_**AN: Oh, boy! What's this? Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga spits fire? Or is it him?**_


End file.
